In the Company of Strangeness In Progress
by pegasus3
Summary: Upped the rating, before I forgot. There is more than one way to hurt God, as Ken will soon find out. Yaoi, and I've found a plot.
1. ItCoS: Why Me?

Author: Pegasus

Title: In the Company of Strangeness

Warnings: This takes place after the series, when Schwartz and Weiss are no longer enemies. (Can anyone tell me what "Officially" happened to Schwartz?). Yaoi/shounen-ai/slash, whatever the hell you want to call it, and bad language.

Couples: Omi/Nagi, Aya (Ran)/Brad, Schuldig/Youji, Farfello/Ken. The couples don't get equal time, sorry. Mostly I'll probably be centering on the last. I'm trying for a Farfello/Ken that makes sense, stays in character, but doesn't include Ken being diced to bits (not that there's anything wrong with that, though).

CAPITALS and _italics_ are for _EMPHASIS_

'Words in these '' are 'thoughts'

Chapter One: ItCoS: Why Me?

0_0

"Omi. Hello and good afternoon." Omi froze, his hand clenching around the dart in his hand as he turned slowly to confront the boy behind the voice that had greeted him.

"Nagi?" He smiled. "Nagi!" The two teens embraced, hugging each other in excitement. Of Schwartz and Weiss, they had been the only two from either team to become friends after the disbanding of both groups. Unfortunately, Nagi had disappeared shortly after that, without leaving Omi any clue as to how to get in touch with him

"I'm glad to see you, too." Nagi said, laughing. He pressed his face into the curve of Omi's neck and breathed deeply. "I've missed you. You haven't any idea how much I've missed seeing you."

"We're still at the Koneko. You could have come by anytime." Omi pressed his cheek against Nagi's hair and smiled. "It's not like you would have worried about the door being locked."

~_~

Youji ground his cigarette out with his foot, his sunglasses perched low on his nose as he admired several of the young ladies across the thoroughfare. He was just about to approach them when a shock of red hair caught his attention. 

He turned to the right, the move casual, until his body was squared with the man staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, asking silently what the hell the redhead wanted.

Schuldig laughed and took that as his cue to approach, his hands raised imperceptibly in a sign of surrender. "I come in piece."

'I'm sure.'

"I'm hurt, Balinese. I thought you'd be glad to see me."

Youji snorted, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes. Schuldig kept a respectable distance away from him. "I'm about as glad to see you as I am to get up in the morning."

The redhead smiled, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that, Balinese."

Green eyes searched his face as Youji attempted to dissect that phrase. There was a double meaning behind it, something he could almost pick up on, but that wasn't quite concrete enough for his brain to grasp entirely.

Schuldig smiled. "I intend on giving you as much reason to be happy in the mornings as you will be to see me." A leering, horny man replaced the predator. 

'If that means what I think it means, Schwartz, you can stay the hell away from me, morning, noon, and night.'

"But where is the fun in that?"

0_o

Aya-chan squealed in delight and hugged the giant panda to her chest. She grinned at her brother of the stuffed animal, her eyes sparkling. Ran smiled back at her, the expression lighting his face, making him look even younger than he was. "Oh, Ran! It's the best!"

Sister hugged brother, the panda left to dangle by one hand behind Ran's back as he held his sibling close. "The best for the best."

"Aw…the best for the best _from_ the best. And don't you forget it!" She squeezed him tight once, and then let him go, once again embracing the animal as she turned to the rides. "Let's see…I want to go on THAT one!"

She was pointing to a ride with eight little cars that went around in circles while the platform they were attached to spun on a wider arc. He smiled and traded her tickets for the panda. She had accepted rather easily that her brother would not go on any of the rides unless forced to at gunpoint. In return, he had to play every game that she wanted. They had already made one trip back to the car to unload all the prizes that he had won for her.

Alone, or as alone as he could be in a crowd, he leaned against an electricity pole and watched as his sister waited impatiently in line, hopping from foot to foot and talking excitedly with the girl beside her.

He felt a presence settle itself beside him, but he didn't turn to look until a familiar voice said, "If I were you, I wouldn't let her go on that ride." 

Ran instantly tensed, his hand going for the katana that wasn't there. He turned his head and glared at Crawford. "Why?"

The American shrugged coolly, his eyes still trained on Aya-chan, as she was loaded into one of the cars with the girl to whom she had been speaking. "Too late, now. You'll see."

The redhead crossed his arms and turned to face his ex-enemy. "What are you doing here?"

"How did I know that you were going to ask that question?" Crawford asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"That's a stupid question, precog. What the hell do you want?" Ran was beyond frustrated. There was only about half a minute before Aya-chan would be coming back, walking straight into the reach of the enemy. It would be hard to protect her in such a public place; especially of the rest of Schwartz was hiding around someplace.

"Actually, I didn't see it in a vision," Crawford said calmly, pointedly ignoring the last question. "You're just terribly predictable, Fujiyami-san. Or should I call you Ran-kun now?"

The ride stopped and Ran's heart almost stopped with it. His violet eyes reflected his desperate anger as he watched his sister step down to the ground. "Why are you here, Schwartz?"

"I've come a'courtin', Weiss."

Ran started as if slapped, his glare darkening further. "Don't you dare touch her. If you so much as look at her-"

"I'm not here for your sister, Fujiyami." Bradley said, effectively quieting Ran's protests. "I'm here for you."

`_0

Ken was not having a good day. In fact, it could be said that Ken was having a very, VERY _bad_ day. The reasons for _why_ are varied and complex, but he had a strong suspicion that a lot of it had to do with the single golden eye that kept staring at him, no matter how far away he moved or which way he turned.

He was at a carnival, surrounded by a swarm of milling, talking, laughing, and otherwise _loud_ people, many of them taller than he and some of them shorter, but the only person that really stood out was the one-eyed blonde that seemed intent on following him around and staring at him all day.

The entire situation was unnerving. They were no longer fighting against Schwartz at every opportunity and therefore neither team had a reason to seek out one of their old enemies, but here was Farfello, stalking him through the crowd of people. Each time that Ken tried to evade him and thought he had succeeded, he turned around and met that yellow eye.

At one point, he had turned around to finally confront the Irishman, but the moment Farfello saw him heading in his direction, the blonde turned and walked away with a smile. 'The damn man is treating this like a game!' Ken thought, disgruntled.

It wasn't fair. Weiss had come the carnival in order to relax and take it easy after a hard week at the Koneko, but Ken's day was being ruined by that psychotic, knife-wielding freak ('to put it kindly, Ken thought') who…

Who had disappeared from sight. 'That is _so_ not good.' Ken looked around, his eyes scanning the crowd in vain. His stalker was gone, but Ken wasn't reassured. If anything, the fact that Farfello was no longer within his range of vision made Ken more paranoid.

'Come out, come out, wherever you are….freak.' He wasn't feeling inclined to be nice as he inched closer to the nearest booth, trying to cut down on all possible routes of attack. The fewer directions he had to keep an eye on, the better.

"Kitty kitty." Ken froze as a low voice sounded in his ear, warm air being blow across his skin at the same time. His entire body tensed, ready to fight at the first indication that that was what Farfello wanted. Two hands came up and settle on his shoulders in a light grip. Not enough to be considered threatening, the touch was still enough to set the rest of his nerves on end.

He jumped, his heart climbing into his throat as he turned around and faced the blonde menace. One golden eye blinked down at him, their noses almost touching as Farfello resettled his grip on Ken's shoulder.

"Hello, kitty." The grin that accompanied the greeting could only be classified as feral or predatory. There was a light in that eye that reflected the excitement of battle that Ken had seen in them before. It looked like the Irishman was looking for a fight even in public.

"Hi," Ken returned almost cheerfully, taking a step back. The blonde followed his movement, giving him no extra space between them. "Are you here to hurt God?"

Farfello smiled, his thin lips twisting upwards. It pulled at the scar over his other eye, drawing Ken's attention to it. "I'll hurt God."

"Yeah, you always do, don't ya?" He tried to keep his voice conversational, but it was difficult when breathing the same air of a man who looked ready to commit mayhem. The sparkle in that yellow eye was anticipatory.

Farfello nodded, his hands tightening when Ken tried to step back again. That time, he didn't even let Ken have the illusion of trying to get away. "You're going to help me hurt God."  


Ken didn't like the sound of that, not a bit. He swallowed hard. "Will hurting me hurt God?"

The blonde shook his head and drew Ken a little closer. When he spoke, his voice was a mere whisper. "No. Hurting you will not hurt God…" He trailed off as if about to list all the things that he could do to hurt God, but the thought was never completed for Ken, because the same psychotic, knife-wielding freak who had followed him around the entire day chose to kiss him instead.

@_@

Next Chapter: How will the Weiss boys respond to Schwartz? What exactly does Schwartz have up their sleeves? Why should Aya-chan have stayed off the ride, and what does Ken do after being kissed by _Farfie_?!

More, coming up on the next edition of: 'In the Company of Strangeness: Why You?'


	2. ItCoS: Why You?

The long awaited sequel! Um...yeah...or the one that took me another day to write. It's weird. I think that this is the first time I've ever started and finished writing two chapters of the SAME story in one day. 

Same warnings apply here, with an addition. I just want to apologize in advance: writing In-Character may work for the first chapter, but after that, I guarantee nothing. Basically, just please forgive me if I slaughter the characterization, it's not intentional; I just suck, 'kay?

Oh yeah, one last thing. I'm having fun with the little me-made smiley faces, so I'm designating each one of the Weiss boys their own. Omi is simply o_o. Youji: ~_~. Aya 0_o. I don't actually have one for Ken, but you can pretty much find him wherever Farfie may be, and Farfello is `_0. Actually, I guess for this fic, Ken could be the @_@. Fitting, ne?

0_0 ~_~

"That was one of the best carnivals I have _ever_ been to!" Omi said excitedly, dancing in place as he waited for Youji to unlock the trunk of his car so that he could stow away the stuffed elephant that Nagi had won for him. He smiled at the memory. It had been a 'knock-down-the-cans' game, where the cans were practically glued together and only someone with superhuman strength ('or telekinetic powers,' thought Omi) could knock them down. It had taken one ball for Nagi to win, leaving the vendor slack-jawed and bug-eyed as they walked away with their prize.

The older man grunted at Omi's enthusiasm. Personally, as far as he could tell, it had been the worst trip to the carnival that he had ever taken. Of course, he couldn't remember another carnival that he'd been to, but that didn't mean that this wasn't the worse.

"Didn't you have fun, Youji-kun?" Omi asked, looking worriedly at his teammate. Youji swore at himself for dimming Omi's happiness and forced a lazy grin on his face.

"It was fun, I'm just a little disappointed that _you're_ the only person I'm taking home with me." He winked suggestively and earned a laugh from the boy. Omi continued to swirl around with the stuffed animal in his arms, humming under his breath with his eyes closed. Youji could only imagine what Omi was picturing in his mind.

He glanced around the parking lot, frowning, searching for Aya's...Ran's Porsche or Ken's bike. It looked like Ran had already left, but Ken was still around someplace: his bike was only six spaces from Youji's car. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The carnival was closing shortly, and even though he knew that Ken normally enjoyed that type of thing, he wasn't the type to stay so late. 

It made him uneasy. If Schuldig had found him so easy, how would he know if the rest of Schwartz hadn't shown up to goad the rest of his team? He looked at Omi and his frown deepened into a scowl as a thought came unbidden to his mind. "Omi?"

"Hmm? Yeah, Youji-kun?"

"Did you see that boy from Schwartz today?" He asked, trying to keep the suspicion from his voice. Omi's reaction was small and quick, but Youji caught it and processed it even while the boy lied and denied it.

"Of course not, Youji-kun! I would have told you if I had. We have to keep an eye on the enemy and..." He trailed off as he realized that Youji was grinning at him in amusement.

"You don't lie well, Omi-kun. Why don't you try telling me the truth?" Omi bit his lip, looking uncertainly at Youji. "If you don't tell me, you're walking home."

The boy sighed, hugging his elephant tighter. The action reminded Youji that he had yet to open the trunk, which he did without taking his gaze from Omi. "He showed up while I was playing a dart game and we...we spent the afternoon playing games and riding the rides!" The last was said all in a rush, leaving Omi breathless and blushing guiltily.

Youji took pity on him and reached out to ruffle his hair. He took the stuffed animal and put it in the trunk as Omi looked at him hopefully. "It's fine, Omi. We're not fighting them any longer, so you're not exactly sleeping with the enemy." He raised an eyebrow when Omi's flush darkened. "Omi, you're blushing!" He teased shrilly.

"Youji-kun!" Omi growled, doing his best to assume Ran's best glare. It didn't work when your face was the color of a ripe tomato. He paused and his face shifted into a small smile. "So it's okay? We can be...friends?"

"Hah! You can be lovers if you wanna, Omi," Youji couldn't help but tease. For a moment, he thought Omi would faint in shock, but the boy simply glared at him again, daring him to make another comment like that. Obviously, the boy didn't like to be teased about his love life. "Let's go, Omi. Ken should be along any minute now and we'll meet him back at the apartment."

`_0

Ken curled his arms around his knees and closed his eyes tight. He was afraid that if he opened them, he'd find Farfello still standing in front of him, one golden eye unblinking as their lips pressed together. The experience had been too unnerving: he had spent the brief span of time of their _kiss _waiting for the Irishman to pull out one of his knives and slice him to bits.

Not surprisingly, after the blonde had pulled away, the first thing to leave his mouth had been "That hurts God."

It had taken a good five seconds and a second short kiss before Ken's mind could even begin to formulate what was happening. When the thought clicked, he did the only thing he could think of. He brought his knee up into Farfello's groin and head-butted him at the same time.

The outcome? Ken nearly knocked himself out while Farfello simply raised an eyebrow. It was then that it registered in Ken's mind that Farfello couldn't _feel _pain; but Ken could. He had closed his eyes and rested on the pavement where he had landed, until he felt a cool hand touch his forehead gently. 

The other man had been crouching beside him, studying Ken with a frown. "Now, now, kitty. I said that hurting you wouldn't hurt God, but you've gone and done it anyway." Ken simply groaned and wished for the earth to swallow him. "You haven't knocked yourself out, have you?"

'I could only wish,' Ken thought sadly. He jumped when Farfello's hand caressed his cheek in what could only be called a 'tender fashion'. He opened his eyes and sat up, using his hands to scoot backwards away from the blonde. "Stay away from me," he warned threateningly, though he couldn't think of one thing to threaten the blonde with.

One corner of Farfello's mouth turned up and he withdrew his hands to rest them on his knees. "You can run from me, kitty, but you can't hide."

"Really?" Ken returned, jumping to his feet. "Watch me!"

He had run in the opposite direction, pushing through people as he slowly edged his way towards the entrance to the carnival. He had almost reached it, too, when Farfello materialized right in front of him, blocking the way.

That had led to a run in the other direction with the same results. It seemed that no matter which way he turned; the blonde had anticipated his actions and was one step ahead of him. So, instead of trying to run, Ken had opted for his second choice: hiding. He was holed up in one of the food vendor buildings. It was empty and it had been a matter of seconds to pick the lock.

He was huddled in one of the darkened corners, his heart hammering in his chest at every sound. He knew that it the park was slowly clearing out and he could only hope that Farfello had gone or would go home soon. He wished for his bugnuks; even if the blonde couldn't feel the pain, the claws could gut and kill him.

The man's intentions had been clearly written in his smile and the glint in his eyes. 'The deranged maniac was going to rape me, the weirdo.' Ken rested his chin on his knees and closed his eye.

"Nah, Siberian. He wasn't going to rape you." A voice announced from the window above his head. Ken froze, wondering if he had been discovered, when recognition kicked in and he realized just who had spoken. He stood up and made his way to the door in resignation.

It opened, and he could see the boy telekinetic holding it open with one hand while he bowed low. Crawford and Schuldig completed a mini-half-circle around the door, barring his escape. He glared at them from his perch in the trailer, his eyes and senses quickly alerting him to the fact that Farfello was probably close, but not in sight. 

With a sinking feeling, he stepped down to the ground and turned to look on top of the trailer. Sure enough, the blonde was sitting on the roof, sitting cross-legged with a knife twirling between his hands. He was staring at the whirling blade in rapt fascination, as if Ken was no longer a concern to him at all.

That was just fine with him, except he now had a new problem. He was alone with Schwartz. "I don't suppose that we could put off fighting until I get a chance to call the others?" He asked, his body tense as he waited for the first strike.

There was a moment of silence and then Schuldig and Nagi laughed. Even Crawford was smiling in amusement. Ken swallowed hard, his attention split between the three laughing at him and the man behind him. It might have been fun chasing him around earlier, but if Farfello didn't want to rape him, he probably intended to kill Ken and the blonde was armed to do so.

"We're not here to fight," Nagi finally replied, his face scrunched in a bright grin. The look almost reminded him of Omi, complete with innocence.

Schuldig smiled and ruffled the Nagi's hair affectionately, his gaze still fixed on Ken. "You can still call the others, though. I'm sure that we'd _all_ like to see at least one of them again." He winked at Crawford, who nodded, his face set back in a blank expression. "In fact, better yet, take us home to visit them. I'd love to see Balinese again."

The way he said it was suggestive and there was a gleam in his eyes that spoke of other things he'd love to do. Ken raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard? Youji's a lady's man. Not a man's man, a lady's man. You're kind of built wrong for him."

The telepath laughed, the sound confident and assured. Ken blinked at him. 'Of course, I've always wondered about the way Youji dresses. Maybe he _does_ have a chance?'

"Thanks for the encouragement, Siberian." The redhead wriggled his eyebrows and winked at him.

'He just winked at me. They're all crazy. The entire lot of them. I am so dead it's not funny.'

Schuldig rolled his eyes and looked at the other two. "He's clogging my brain with his paranoia. Either kill him, hand him over to Farfie, or let him go, because he's giving me a headache."

'Good.' Ken thought with a fair amount of satisfaction. That feeling was quickly replaced with fear when he felt more than heard Farfello land behind him, the air around him displaced by the sudden movement. He stared straight ahead, a catch in his breathing the only outward sign of his discomfort. 

A hand touched him lightly on the back, his awareness of the gentle pressure heightened by expectancy. His teeth ground together in an effort to keep his reaction under control; if he failed to hold himself back, he'd end up turning around and hitting, rather ineffectually, at the man touching him. That would only serve to _amuse_ his audience more and he wasn't about to give them any more satisfaction than he had to.

"Good kitty." Ken rolled his eyes as the hand moved up to his shoulder and stayed. The other hand and the presence of body heat moving close to his back soon followed it. His eyes widened in surprise as Farfello breathed on the back of his neck, making the hair there stand on end.

His final nerve snapped when a warm pair of lips caressed his hairline. He pulled away, stumbling forward a little as he broke from the blonde's grasp. He turned around, ready to throw a punch or whatever else it took to keep the blonde away from him touching him again. What he saw surprised him.

Before the Irishman had a chance to turn his face back into its maniacal mask of lunacy [1], Ken caught the unguarded tenderness. Suddenly, the day caught up with him: the emotional and physical cost of constantly dodging Farfello, the fear of a moment before, hunger from running instead of eating, and now the confusion evoked by the look in that golden eye.

For the first time in his life, at least for the first time without having sustained a serious injury first, Ken fainted. The four corners of Schwartz looked down at him, surprise clearly showing on all of their faces. 

Schuldig looked up at Farfello, who was frowning down at his 'kitty'. "You know, Farfie, a talent like that could have been useful when we were still _fighting_ them."

0_o

Ran stared out the window of his apartment, his arms crossed over his chest as his violet gaze studied the building across the way. He wouldn't have said that it was an interesting view, but he had been staring at it for the better part of an hour. 

Behind him, lying on the sofa with a cloth over her eyes, Aya-chan was sleeping. She had stumbled off of the ride earlier, the one that went in circles repeatedly, walked up to her brother, and then thrown up on his shoes. 

He had stared at her, before turning to glare at Crawford. The precog had shrugged, not looking the least apologetic. Shortly after, Ran had escorted Aya-chan home, giving her something for her still upset stomach before settling her on the couch for a nap. It had been early evening then and she had woken up once, long enough to take a sleeping pill that would keep her out all night.

Movement on the street drew his gaze downward and he watched as a woman carried a bag of groceries into the building that he was watching so thoroughly. A car pulled around the corner and he identified it as Youji's. He looked at his watch, surprised to find that the day was almost gone.

It was odd. He had expected some kind of veiled threat from Crawford, some kind of explanation that would be better than the one he'd been given. He had fought the man several times, had exchanged threats and blows with fervor. Though _he_ had changed much since Aya-chan recovered, he could see no reason behind Crawford's "Courting". 

'The American is a strange one, indeed,' he thought to himself. Downstairs, he heard the door shut, felt the slight tremor through the floor as Youji and Omi entered the Koneko by the front entrance.

He frowned. They normally came in the back entrance when the shop wasn't open. Since Youji had taken to parking in back, it was more logical. In a second, he was across the apartment, pulling his katana from its sheath. There was someone downstairs and he had a gut feeling that it wasn't someone that had been invited.

@_@

Well! That was interesting. Who is in the Koneko after closing? What will Schwartz do with poor Kenken? Since when does Farfie show anything other than psychotic neurosis?

More, coming up on the next episode of 'In the Company of Strangeness: What happened?'

[1] I love that! Say it three times fast!


	3. ItCoS: What Happened?

I found a better one for Ken: *_*

0_o `_0 0_0 ~_~

Ran stalked silently down the stairs, his katana held in both hands as he listened attentively to the sounds coming from below. After the door had shut, he hadn't heard any other sounds, but he had been too good of an assassin to assume that that meant his unexpected 'guest' had decided to leave of his own free will.

It had entered his mind that it could have been Crawford, coming to continue his 'courting'. However, as far as Ran could tell, sneaking in through the front door seemed almost too dignified for the American.

Near the bottom of the stairs, his ears detected a quiet shuffling sound, like a burden being shifted. One hand reached for the light switch as his grip tightened over the hilt of his sword. He flipped the light on, his eyes adjusting quickly to the expected illumination of the Koneko show floor.

He blinked, his katana lowering automatically as his brain tried to assimilate what he was seeing. Scattered throughout the room stood Schwartz. Crawford was seated casually on the stool behind the counter. Nagi was playing with an arrangement, his nose buried in the blooms. Schuldig was staring at a selection of roses ('Picking the perfect flower for a date,' Aya thought scornfully). The mind reader either ignored him, or didn't _hear_ his snide comment.

Ran turned his attention to the chair by the door, his eyes narrowing as he took in the 'homey' scene before him. An unconscious Ken was nestled in the arms of the one-eyed, knife-wielding blonde [1].

The single eye blinked at him; Farfello was the only Schwartz member to acknowledge his presence.

After a moment's hesitation, Ran let his arm down so that the katana hung by his side. Violet eyes scanned Ken worriedly, finding nothing on the surface to cause alarm; the fact that Ken was sleeping in Farfello's arms was enough to make him concerned.

The sound of the backdoor opening and closing caught everyone's attention, and they all turned to the hallway expectantly. Youji walked through first and froze in the doorway, making Omi walk into him.

"Ne, Youji-kun. What's the matter?" The boy pushed by the detective aside and stepped fully into the room, his gaze moving unerringly to Nagi. The boys smiled and approached each other, leaving the rest of their team members to deal with their own problems. After a minute, by silent agreement, they disappeared upstairs, hand-in-hand.

Youji watched them bemusedly, his green eyes following them until they disappeared and then swinging to glare at Schuldig. The redhead was leering at him. 'Get lost, pervert. I'm not interested, or haven't you noticed?'

Instead of answering, the redhead walked closer, a red rose clasped in his hand. Youji almost took a step back, but stopped himself in time from making such a weak display in front of the enemy. He stood his ground as Schuldig walked closer. The telepath didn't stop until there were a few scant inches between them. He held out the rose, his head tipped to one side flirtatiously. 

With a deep breath, Youji reached out a hand and accepted the offering, his glasses effectively hiding his eyes from the other men in the room. At that moment, he was glad for the minimal covering, though he knew that they did nothing to spare him from having his thoughts read. 'My room, up the stairs, third door on the left. Don't get any ideas, either.'

Schuldig smiled and turned, leading the way. Youji hesitated next to Ran. In a low voice, he muttered, "I don't know how long this will take. Watch over Ken?"

The assassin nodded, his violet eyes glaring at Farfello. "Do what you must," he answered back, just as quietly. The older man nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

"I do believe that that leaves you and I." Crawford said, standing up and walking slowly around the counter towards Ran. The violet glare turned to him, one fiery eyebrow raised. "However, I must ask that you forgive the delay, as I'm sure that you'd hate to have to explain the entire situation to her at this time of night."

"What are you-"

"Ran?" A soft voice called from the top of the stairs. Ran froze, his eyes darting from Farfello, who's only movement so far had been to brush the hair from Ken's closed eyes, to Crawford, who was watching him expectantly. He turned to head up the stairs, but Aya-chan was too quick.

She stepped into view as he reached the third step, her gaze already moving to the men behind him.

"Ken-kun?" She asked in worried surprise, her eyes quickly meeting her brother's. "What's going on?"

Ran sighed, moving his arm behind his back as casually as possible to block the sword from view.

"Nothing, Aya-chan. You should go back to bed," he suggested as softly as possible. Boots sounded on the steps behind him and he didn't have to turn to know who was standing there.

"Who are they?" His sister asked softly, her eyes moving beyond his shoulder and back to him quickly.

"Bradley Crawford, ma'am. At you're service." The American glided past Ran and held a hand a chivalrous hand out to Aya-chan. She gave her hand hesitatingly, her eyes trained on her brother. He nodded once and smiled to show her that it was okay. There wasn't much else he could have done.

Crawford took her small hand in his and raised it to his smiling lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Crawford-san." She withdrew her hand as quickly and politely as possible. "Why don't you invite your guests upstairs, Ran?"

His jaw clenched at the suggestion, but he couldn't refuse without having to explain to her why. He nodded, his gaze turning to Crawford. The words wouldn't come, though, and he was left silently waving towards the top of the stairs in invitation. Crawford smiled and inclined his head acceptingly before turning to follow Aya-chan.

Ran spared a quick glance back to check on Ken, but his sister overrode the loyalty he had to the other man, and he was forced to leave him lying in Farfello's arms.

*_* `_0

Farfello frowned down at the man in his arms and then at the staircase. Schuldig had told him to carry Ken to the car, so he did. Nagi had suggested letting Ken sleep, so he had. Crawford had ordered him to carry Ken inside, which he did. What was he supposed to do now?

His first instinct was to reach for his knife, but the other three had all agreed when they told him that that probably wouldn't get him very far and he figured that they knew more than he did about his current situation and how to deal with it. The knife stayed where it was.

Well, the other's had all gone upstairs, so he would follow their lead. The man in his arms barely stirred as he stood up, his bundle held securely against his chest. Hurting Ken would not hurt God; in fact, he believed that the opposite was true.

The stairs were easy enough to traverse, but getting to the top brought forth the next problem. He didn't know which room was Ken's. After a moment, he realized that three of the four rooms had lights showing beneath the doors. Logic would suggest that the dark one was Ken's.

That decided, it was quick work to get into the room and set Ken on the bed, which Farfello did without turning the light on. With Ken settled on top of the bed, he moved away to more interesting things, like finding where the bugnuks were hidden. He'd always been fascinated by the weapon. 

He glanced back at the bed. That could have explained his fascination with Ken, too. It would make sense that he would be interested by the man who handled the claws so well. Then again, he respected the way that Fujiyami handled that katana, but that didn't mean that he wanted anything to do with the man.

No; as odd as it might have sounded, there was something about Ken that drew Farfello like an extremely sharp blade. It was odd, illogical, and best of all…

It hurt God.

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Omi smiled down at Nagi before pressing his lips together to hold in a chuckle. The other wriggled and giggled as Omi continued his ministrations.

"Omi." The name came out as half-squeal, half-sigh. "Ah…oh, Omi…Mm…lower, please….oh, yeah…"

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Youji strapped his old watch to his wrist and held it up for Schuldig to see. "You try anything with me, buck-o, and I'll use this. No hesitation, got it?"

"Of course." Schuldig smiled congenially and nodded. A second later, he had Youji pressed against the wall, his tongue in the other man's mouth, Youji's gasp of surprise swallowed by the redhead's invading mouth. 

The ex-detective shoved him back forcibly, his hand automatically reaching for the catch on his watch that would release the wire. Except the wire was gone. So was the watch. He looked down at his wrist for a moment before looking up and seeing the weapon dangling from Schuldig's hand. Comprehension dawned quickly and he narrowed his eyes.

"Try that again and see what else I have up my sleeve."

"I'd rather see what's a little lower," Schuldig leered, stepping closer.

Youji crossed his arms and glared. 'Screw off, bub.'

The redhead paused and looked at him for a moment before mirroring his stance. "Listen. We've both been around the block a few times. I'm sure that you've at least experimented with a few things-"

"Experimenting normally didn't include welcoming a man who used to do a damn good job of trying to kill me into his bed."

"Is it the man part? Or the whole kill factor?" Schuldig asked, curious.

Youji rolled his eyes. "I think it's both. I don't make it a habit to sleep with my own gender. I like woman. Soft, pliant flesh underneath my hands, the soft, feminine gasp for breath when I find just the right spot…" He trailed off dreamily, his thoughts drifting to many of the pleasant memories he had shared with women from all over the city. The world, even.

"Do you really think it's so different with a man?"

"Um…yes? Isn't that the whole point? It's not the same, that's why so many people go one way and never come back. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but when you're happy with what you're getting', why try for something that may not be as good?"

"Oh, I don't know…fear of finding out that it's better?"

"Ugh! You're not listening! Okay, let's try this. Even if I were interested in trying it with another guy, it wouldn't be with you! Alright! I have no interest in _you _personally! Blame it on the whole being enemies thing, but that's the truth! Read it in my mind if you have to!"

"That's the problem, Yotan," Schuldig stated quietly, his face serious. "I can't read your thoughts unless you want me to. I've been trying to figure out why, and I've come up with one solution…"

"Yeah?" Youji asked impatiently when the redhead trailed off. He was mildly curious, but that was it. More than anything, he wanted the redheaded annoyance gone so that he could go to sleep in peace.

"I think it's because I want you more than I've ever wanted anything."

*_*

"I don't want to hurt God, okay? I don't know what you have planned, but I want nothing to do with it," Ken said, standing in the far corner of his room. Farfello was sitting in the same place he had been when Ken woke up; on the edge of the bed with Ken's claws on his hands.

His mind recalled his earlier presumption that Farfello would…'Okay, just because he's a sick freak, there's no reason to assume that he's that much of a sick freak. That would be low, even for Schwartz.'

Of course, the same high moral standards that might have kept Farfello from raping him probably wouldn't stop him from killing him. On the positive side, he was home, so hopefully if he called, the others would hear him and come running to help. If they were home, that was.

Ken sighed at the blonde's lack of response and decided to chance stepping closer so that he could leave. He was hungry and the kitchen was calling his name. He made it to the door just as one of his claws pierced through it, barring him from leaving. 

"Where are you going?" Farfello asked softly, his voice right behind Ken. Ken could feel the other man's body pressing lightly against him.

"I was going to the kitchen."

"No. You're my kitty and you can't leave until I'm done playing with you."

"You know, I feel sorry for any pets you've ever had, if this is the way you treat them," Ken griped. "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since early this morning, because I was being stalked by some lunatic. I would like to go to the bathroom and then get something to eat or drink before I die and end up lying in my own excretion, okay?"

He looked over his shoulder and stared into Farfello's eye. After a moment, the blonde backed away, letting him out of the room. Thankful for the reprieve, Ken left quickly, his first stop the bathroom like he had said. He passed the hall leading to Ran and Aya-chan's apartment and had another thought, 'Ran is so going to kill me when he finds out that Farfello was in here.'

He stepped into the kitchen and found Farfello standing in front of the fridge. He rolled his eyes and turned to a cupboard in search of food. The sound of metal slicing through metal jarred him from his thoughts and made him jump, his gaze flying to Farfello. The door to the refrigerator was now open, courtesy of the new door handle that the blonde had created when he stabbed Ken's claws through the side of the door. Ran was definitely going to kill him in the morning.

"They're awkward. Heavy and not evenly weighed. How do you fight so well with these?" Farfello was gazing at the bugnuks in confusion and it took Ken a moment to realize that he'd been asked a question.

He was about to answer when a loud yell stopped him. He looked up as he recognized Youji's voice rose in anger. He stood up and looked out into the hallway that connected the kitchen to bedrooms.

Only a few seconds passed before the door to Youji's room opened and a man was forcibly pushed out. Schuldig let his body collide with the opposite wall without softening the impact, his eyes trained on the glaring man in front of him.

"Listen here, you mind reading pond scum. I don't care why you can't read my thoughts. In fact, I'm grateful that you can't. Just know that if I was interested in you, you'd know it by now, okay?" Youji asked, his voice loud enough to bring Omi and Nagi from the former's room. Nagi had his shoes off, but both boys were otherwise fully dressed.

Ken blinked at the four of them, his mind so focused on solving the riddle in front of him that he ignored the hand placed on his shoulder. Nagi looked sadly at Omi, leaned forward to kiss him, and then turned to his older teammate. He smiled apologetically at Youji and started pulling Schuldig towards the stairs.

The redhead didn't put up any resistance, until they came even with the kitchen. He looked up and glared at Ken and Farfello, his gaze glancing briefly over the hand on Ken's shoulder before staring into the blonde's eye. "We're heading out. Finish up and let's go."

"I haven't hurt God yet." Schuldig paused, his eyes scanning Ken's face for a moment, his mind probing the younger man's, before he shook his head. 

"Not tonight, Farfie. The poor boy's too tired. Let him eat and rest up." It was more of an order than a suggestion. After another pause, Farfello pulled his hand away. Ken leaned against the wall; glad of the distance and the reprieve he was about to receive. Farfello took the gloves off his hands and handed them to Ken.

He expected the blonde to walk past him without further incidence. He definitely didn't except the man to lean forward to kiss him suddenly. "I'll be back, kitty." Then the three of them were gone, striding down the stairs silently. As an after thought, his mind still reeling from the close encounter a second before, he sent a thought after Schuldig.

'Tell him to stop calling me 'kitty.''

@_@

[1] You know, I have a feeling that Weiss doesn't think too highly of Schwartz's resident sociopath. Farfie's one of my favorites, though.

Oh, pooh! I was really hoping for a more exciting chapter, but I'm reaching my limits for today. Expect more of a follow up soon.

Also, feedback is not only welcomed, but if you leave your addy in the body of your review, I'll get back to you personally; that includes questions and comments.

What the heck happened? What were Omi and Nagi giggling about? Farfello is being _nice_? Youji threw Schuldig out? And Crawford is still someplace in the Koneko? 

Stay tuned for more mis-adventures on the next elucidation of 'In the Company of Strangeness: When Will This End?'


	4. ItCoS: When Will This End?

Crawford and Ran get their little space, to make up the lack in the last chapter. Youji is now the winking flirt ~_O and Nagi is ~_~.

0_o

"So, Crawford-San, what brings you to our humble abode so late at night?" Aya-chan asked softly. She was holding a cup of tea, as were both of the men. Ran wanted to snort at the absurdity that he was now 'entertaining' an enemy in his apartment. Entertaining without gun, sword, or heated words, to be more precise, and he wasn't happy about any of it.

His sister had her own ideas of how she wanted things and without dredging up the past few years at that very moment, he couldn't tell her that the man sitting so calmly to drink green tea with them had months before been one of the major threats to his, Ran's, life. However, that's not a conversation you had over tea; tea was reserved for polite, menial subjects such as the weather.

Aya-chan was sitting in a chair across from them, her back straight, and her posture everything a young lady could strive for. Her eyes, on the other hand, were sparkling devilishly, a look from their childhood that reminded Ran of the time she'd climbed out her window and ran away for the afternoon [1]. She was up to something and he had a sinking feeling, when he caught her looking at Crawford, what it was.

"I'm just visiting your brother, Aya-chan. And please, call me Brad." The man was as smooth as peach sorbet. Ran resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Aya-chan smiled.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Bradley-kun. Truthfully, the few times that my brother has mentioned you, I've received the impression that your relationship was...strained. I did see you at the carnival earlier, though. I'm glad that you've come around to see Ran. Besides Ken, Omi, and Youji, he doesn't seem to be very social."

She was teasing her brother, purposely goading him. He smiled at her, raising one scarlet eyebrow in a silent threat of retribution. Her smile widened and he realized that he had walked right into her little trap. He gritted his teeth and tried to figure out when his sister became so sly.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone with my brother, but it's been a long afternoon and I need a nap. I'm sure you understand," she was saying before Ran's mind had caught up to the conversation again. She and Crawford stood and said their goodbyes before Aya-chan disappeared into the back of the apartment. Which meant that Ran was now alone with the American.

"Alone at last," Crawford said as he turned to look down at Ran.

"Not yet. You can leave and then I'll finally be alone." He intentionally misinterpreted the statement, his eyes daring Crawford to do…something, though Ran wasn't exactly sure what. His eyes met Crawford's gaze and he felt a flash of something -'foreboding', he decided- as the other man studied him intently.

The cushions sank into the couch when Crawford sat down, this time sitting so close that he was nearly sitting in Ran's lap. "I couldn't possibly leave before I've done what I came for."

Ran stood up, seemingly casual in the movement, and crossed to the window. He turned to face Crawford, his arms crossed over his chest. "Have you seen the outcome of this conversation?" He asked, mildly curious. 

"Yes," the precog answered, nodding. He had seen flashes of what would happen, but had come anyway. He had learned a long time ago that it wasn't his place to change the future, so he accepted the visions he had and did his part in making them true. He stood up lithely and stalked towards Ran, his eyes fixed to the redhead's face. 

They would fight; Ran would break a hold and reach for his katana. There was a brief period where it was blank, and then another image of Ran holding him at sword-point. The last picture he had was of himself, walking through a door. Nothing more specific than that, but it was enough.

As expected, Ran didn't retreat from the advance. He held his ground firmly; his eyes steady on Crawford's face, his own expression blank. 'At least he's not glaring,' the precog thought. Since Ran was already standing near the wall, it was a small matter for Crawford to place a hand on the wall on either side of him and lean closer, trapping him.

"If you kiss me, I will not hesitate to tear you apart," warned Ran, his voice unemotional. Crawford smiled, taking it as a challenge. He pressed forward and placed his mouth over Ran's, his lips slightly parted. Ran didn't immediately push him away; the violet-eyed man seemed frozen in place. Crawford took advantage of that and used his tongue to spread Ran's lips before plundering into the velvety moistness of the other man's mouth [2].

A second later, he was lying flat on his back while his lip bled. Ran glared down at him. "I warned you." Then he was on top of Crawford, his fists striking quickly. It took the other man a minute before he got a chance to do anything more than deflect some of the blows.

Crawford bucked his hips, pushed at Ran's chest, and then used his thigh to send the redhead sailing past his head. Ran rolled, turned, and straightened in one smooth move as Crawford jumped to his feet and spun to face him. They lunged at each other and went crashing to the floor again in a tangle of limbs. This time, they rolled from side to side, each one occasionally taking control and getting in a good punch or kick before they rolled again and the other was on top.

During one of the instances when Ran was underneath Crawford, he brought his knee up into the other man's groin, making Crawford groan. His eyes widened as he covered himself and fell to the side in pain. Ran jumped up and stalked across the living room to where he had left his katana earlier.

Crawford was climbing to his feet when he returned and he held the sword to his throat. "You saw this?"

Seeing no point in denying it, Crawford nodded. "Yes."

"And still you kissed me?" Ran drew in a breath as he waited for the other man to answer. His heart was racing from their tussle and an unusual excitement that was winding through his veins. They were evenly matched in strength and almost in skill, though he wouldn't have been able to say who was the better fighter. What he did know was that he respected the man before him, for his abilities and for his intelligence, and yet that same man had stayed around when he knew already that he wouldn't win.

"Ah, kissing you was the best part." Crawford smiled slightly, though his eyes were serious. "I can't change the future, and in this case I wouldn't have tried."

"Walk." Ran growled, pointing towards the hallway with his katana. Crawford turned and walked in that direction, his hands tucked casually into his jacket pockets. There were three doors in the hallway, one to each of the bedrooms and one that lead to the rest of the apartments where the other members of Weiss lived. Crawford walked towards the entrance, but a quick tug and push from Ran sent him into a darkened bedroom. He blinked when he realized that the walls were the same as from his vision.

He turned to Ran, who was standing in front of the now closed door, and smiled.

~_0

Youji watched out his window as Schuldig and the other two left. He lit a cigarette, but left it burning, unattended, in his hand. His green eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as he watched the three Schwartz members drive away.

When the cigarette had burned down to the filter, he stubbed it out against the windowsill and threw the butt away. His watch, the one with the wire inside, was sitting on his nightstand. He had picked it up after shoving the redhead into the hallway.

The only thing he knew at that moment was that he was confused and angry. Or, confused, angry, and turned on as all hell. If he had ever had a girl kiss him like Schuldig did, she would have been the only name in his black book, that was for sure.

o_o

After Nagi was gone, Omi went to his computer and signed onto the Internet. He wanted to be online the moment Nagi got home so that they could talk. That done, he looked around at his room; the neatly stacked books, the pictures on the wall, and his rumpled bed. He smiled and closed his eyes, remembering.

~_~

"It was a foot massage, Schu. Nothing more," Nagi said heatedly, his cheeks a bright red. The German laughed, making the boy even more uncomfortable. Farfello was watching them silently from the back seat, his eye moving between them. 

Silence followed Nagi's outburst until Farfello asked, "Why would a foot massage make you blush?" This was followed by a maniacal laugh. Nagi glanced over his shoulder and saw that the Irishman was playing with one of his knives, twisting it around his fingers and watching the glint of the blade in rapture.

"Schu, are you sure that we're doing the right thing? Pushing Farfello towards Ken?"

"We're not pushing, little one. Farfie's the one that wanted the boy; we're just helping out so that the kitten doesn't end up being skinned."

"That's not a pleasant image, Schu."

"Think on the positive side; at least he wasn't interested in your Omittchi."

o_o 

"Nagi," he read as he typed, "I'm sorry you had to leave so suddenly. Maybe you could spend the night here this weekend? The guys already know that we're *friends*." He paused to giggle. "So it shouldn't be a problem for you to come over."

'I'd love to, but I don't think Schu's in a good mood. Youji-kun made him kind of mad. He's trying not to let it get to him, but something that your playboy said as hit him deep.'

"Sounds interesting. I'm curious. You know, I've always thought of Youji-kun as straight, but maybe Schuldig will be lucky and Youji will have just never realized that he's really gay."

'Omi, my love, Youji is how old? And he's supposed to just suddenly realize that he has likings towards his own gender? I thought you were a genius?'

"Ha ha. You're the genius, koi. It *is* possible, you know. Or maybe he'll just discover that he's in love with Schuldig. He wouldn't have discovered that he liked men because Schuldig would be the first."

'rotfl. I love you. You're as optimistic as Farfie is insane.'

"I don't think that's a compliment."

*_* 

The house was quiet. Omi and Youji had both gone back to their rooms, and Ran hadn't bothered to come out of his. Ken was sitting at the table, a bowl of instant noodles and a mug of green tea in front of him. He was only moving the food about instead of eating it, though. His mind felt kind of foggy, and he knew he -should- eat, but nothing sounded appetizing.

His bugnuks were sitting on the table in front of him, one of the blades slightly tarnished from their trip through the wall and then the refrigerator. His mind kept straying back to Farfello -'What a scary thought,' he shuddered- and the kiss that he'd been given right before the blonde had disappeared.

Ken had been kissed before. When he'd been a J-leaguer, being kissed by fans had been a daily occurrence. Even being kissed by a man once hadn't fazed him, though at the time he'd been stunned. The thing that kept coming back to him was that at the moment of contact, he hadn't felt fear, or disgust, or anything else he would have expected.

'Not that I liked it, either, I just didn't _not_ like it as much as I think I should have.' The thought was scary, especially considering that the other person involved happened to be a certifiable albino who couldn't feel pain and wouldn't take "Bug off" as an answer.

@_@

[1] I love fan fiction. It's one of those cool places where they can do whatever the heck you want them to without having to worry about the why's too much *wink*.

[2] Gash! I hate sappy make out sessions, but I can't resist writing them. I snickered all throughout this scene, for many reasons.

Crawford and Ran did what? Nagi is blushing that hard over a _foot massage_? Youji is having second thoughts about being so hasty in his manner towards Schuldig? Ken is safe for a while, but will the morning bring another incident with the sanity-challenged Farfello?

More, coming next time on, 'In the Company of Strangeness: A day with Farfie.'


	5. ItCoS: A Day With Farfie

Here it is, the fifth funderful part of "ItCoS: a Day with Farfie". Expect dementia and insanity.

Also, it has recently come to my attention that Farfello's name is Farferello, but for continuity's sake, I'm leaving it as I started it. I owe a big thank you to Ai-chan, you very kindly answered all of my questions and then some, and also hooked me up to some great sites.

Last, but not least: I'm going to include a warning for spoilers. Admittedly, I haven't seen all of the WK episodes. There are things that I have missed. However, if someone reads this and says "Hey, that didn't happen" or "I didn't want to *know* that yet!" then I'm just saying, in my defense, that if you haven't seen the whole thing and you actually want it to be a surprise, then you shouldn't be reading fan fiction. *Takes a deep breath* (I feel better now. I just had to get that little thing off my chest.)

`_O *_*

Ken's room was located in the back part of the building, over the back entrance to the Koneko, with a lovely view of the gray bricks of the building across the way from his window. Being on the second floor without a fire escape, the only obvious entrance to his room was through the door, the same door he used every night that he went to bed in his room.

Being as obvious as it was, the door was not the way that Farfello chose to enter the room at five o-clock the following morning. Instead, he came in through the afore-mentioned window, putting one hand through the glass after he managed to get up to the window. How? You don't want to know.

He entered through the window, the grass crunching under his feet as he walked across the broken shards. Amazingly, despite his great skills as an assassin, Ken was not disturbed at all by the sound of his window breaking or of the man crossing his room. What did rouse him, however, was that same man crawling on top of him in the bed.

Shocked from slumber, his first natural reaction was to strike out viciously, his knee jerking up into the man's groin as he grabbed a hold of Farfello's shirt and head-butted him. The actions gave Ken a headache and an uncomfortable position as he identified his attacker too late. Now he was pressed even closer to the man by his own actions and acutely aware how awkward it would look if anyone else were to come in and see him gripping Farfello so closely

He tried to push the other man away, but to no avail. The blonde simply lied down on top of him, and stayed. He didn't grope, didn't start playing with his knives, or make any comment. Ken froze as his mind reeled in confusion. This really wasn't supposed to happen. The enemy was not supposed to crawl in bed with him and do nothing. He could get angry if Farfello tried something, but the man simply snuggled down, like a trusting child, and went to sleep.

It was disarming. He was trying his hardest to put as much distance between himself and Farfello, but the blonde seemed intent on destroying the last vestige of Ken's sanity by doing the last thing that Ken expected: kissing him the night before and then getting into bed with him this morning were two very good examples of this.

By the time Ken got his breathing and heart rate under control, Farfello was asleep on top of Ken, his arms wrapped around the dark-haired man in what seemed to Ken something very close to an embrace. He closed his eyes and forced his body to relax. It didn't happen immediately. Then Farfello's head nuzzled his neck and the Irishman cooed in his sleep. All the fight drained out of him, and his body wilted under the other man's, becoming pliant. 

Under the circumstances, he told himself, the only thing he could do comfortably was go back to sleep.

*_*

When he woke up a few hours later, he was alone in bed. He would have thought that he'd been dreaming that morning, if his head didn't still hurt and his window wasn't broken. He got out of bed quickly and dressed, his movements jerky in his rush. 

He was out his door two minutes later, socks in hand as he rushed down the hall. In the kitchen, he froze, his gaze drawn to the man standing at the stove. Omi and Youji were sitting at the table, staring in fascination as Farfello made breakfast. With a knife in one hand and a pan in the other, he seemed to be cutting up a potentially lethal egg into smaller piles of goo.

Ken sighed and leaned against the doorframe as his friends turned to him with equal looks of trepidation. There was no way that either of them would eat something that Irishman had made and after watching him for a minute, Ken didn't think he could stomach anything that came out of that pan, either.

"Put the pan and knife down and step away from the stove," Ken commanded. The blonde at the stove froze before following his direction and turning around. One golden eye looked Ken over for a moment. "I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to go. Now."

Farfello stared at him. 

"Um, Ken? Do you know how he got in?" Youji asked curiously. Seeing that Ken had survived the previous day in one piece and now was ordering Farfello around, he didn't see much reason to be worried. Confused, surely; worried, no. Everything seemed under control, if not normal.

"Yeah," Ken answered without elaborating. Farfello was still looking at him steadily, making no move to leave. He was aware that Omi and Youji kept looking at him, as if expecting him to suddenly do a trick that would magically make Farfello disappear. Ken sighed and looked at Youji. "Where's Ran?"

"He hasn't come out of his room yet," Omi answered. He smiled slightly and ducked his head. Nagi had told him that Crawford hadn't come home last night, but he wasn't about to impart that tidbit on to his friends just yet.

"Great. Ran's sleeping late for a change and Ken's boyfriend is making breakfast. This day gets better and better," Youji said sarcastically. 

"And better, love," Schuldig's voice said as the redhead stepped into view. Youji froze and Omi jumped to his feet and left, hoping to find Nagi nearby. "He's downstairs, Omi."

"Thanks, Schuldig!" Omi called back, already on the stairs.

With an outward calm that he was far from feeling, Youji got to his feet. Schuldig eyed him, his face as neutral as Youji's. "Hello, Balinese."

"Schuldig," he responded coolly. He walked slowly out of the room and towards the stairs and Schuldig fell into step beside him. Ken watched them leave with a frown, wondering just what the heck was going on there.

He turned back around to find Farfello staring at him, slowly licking the edge of his knife. Ken sighed. "I told you to put that down." 

Instead of putting it away again, Farfello pressed the blade against his cheek and stalked toward Ken like a cat stalking a mouse. "Do you fear my knife?"

"Not really," Ken answered honestly, remembering the blonde's words from the day before. Hurting Ken would not hurt God; the opposite was true, whatever -that- meant.

"Do I frighten you?" he asked in the same low, calm tone.

"No, but you -do- weird me out. Big time, I might add." Ken held his ground by sheer force of will. Farfello kept moving until their bodies were aligned and touching. His elbow, bent to keep his hand and knife by his face, jutted out over Ken's shoulder as his other cheek pressed against Ken's. The dark-haired assassin stiffened, but still didn't move. Farfello's breath wafted across his skin with each breath, and his own chest hitched in reaction.

"Do I disgust you, kitty?" His voice lowered. The hand with the knife moved to Ken's shoulder, moving close enough to his neck so that the blade rested gently against the curve of his neck. "Do my scars seem ugly to you?"

Ken didn't know how to answer that. The blonde pressed close to him didn't seem the type to ask for flattery about his looks, so there had to be a deeper question hidden beneath the surface of the simple one. Instead of answering, Ken asked one of his own. "Did you give yourself those scars?"

"No. They are from God." Was the reply. Farfello rubbed his cheek against Ken's softly. "Each scar is a reminder of how I have suffered and a reason that I must hurt Him in return."

"Why must He suffer?" Ken risked asking. The Irishman tensed and jerked his head away slightly, so that he could look at Ken. There was pained fury in the golden depth of his eye, and Ken could feel it trigger something inside of him.

"Because He forces others to suffer. When He cries out in agony, my own suffering will cease and what has been stolen from me will be returned." His jaw clenched and he took a small step back from Ken, putting breathing room between them.

Ken almost protested the space before his mind caught up to him. The knife was still resting against his skin, making him aware that, though there was space between them, he wasn't free yet. His eyes scanned Farfello's face, taking in the smooth scar across his nose, the smaller one under his good eye, and the one on his chin. His arms were littered with many more, some long and jagged, some short and smooth. His body looked like the human version of a cutting board.

"What did He do to cause so much suffering for you?" Ken asked, his eyes moving back to meet Farfello's one. The Irishman stared at him for a moment, unblinking, and then his lips twisted in the cold facsimile of a smile.

"It matters not. I will have my revenge soon enough." He brought the knife to his mouth and licked the blade before turning around and returning to the stove. "I am making breakfast."

"So I noticed," Ken mumbled, taking a seat at the table. It seemed that show and tell was over for the day. He felt very tired suddenly, as if the previous minutes had taken a day's worth of energy. "And what is it that you're making?"

"Eggs, bacon, pork sausage, and potatoes." Ken grimaced. He wouldn't be able to move all day if he put that much grease into his body.

"Can I settle on wafers?" He asked. Farfello turned his head to look at him out of the corner of his eye. "I'm not putting that stuff into my mouth, even if you stare at me all day."

"Fine." Farfello turned the stove off, picked up the pan and walked it across the kitchen, and dropped dumped the whole thing into the trashcan, spatula and all. The only thing spared was his knife. "Then what would you like?"

"Um, nothing." Farfello shrugged and closed his eye as he slowly ran the tip of his tongue along the flat side of his knife. Ken felt his body tighten and stood quickly, shocked at his own reaction. He stumbled out of the room, conscious of Farfello following behind him, and made his way downstairs to the Koneko.

He found Youji standing behind the counter, concentrating on an arrangement while trying to ignore Schuldig's presence at his side. Nagi and Omi were nowhere is sight, so they must have left or gone into the back. Farfello stopped at the bottom of the stares and he was conscious of that golden eye trailing his movements as he grabbed a broom and began to sweep. 

His head down, he started in the corner by the door and slowly worked his way towards the counter. He swept the floor, dusted the shelves, wiped some of the plants down with a dust cloth, all without looking at Farfello. He knew that the other man was there, he could feel his presence and his gaze, but he had the illogical hope that if he ignored him, he would go away.

Youji was trying the same tactic, but with similar results. Schuldig sat beside him while he worked, followed behind him when he went to retrieve something, and commented occasionally on how 'sexy' or 'beautiful' Youji looked while working. He envied Ken the distance between him and Farfello, though he didn't envy him the Irishman's attention.

Eventually, Omi and Nagi came out of hiding in the back, but only long enough for the other four to see their disheveled state. About that time, Aya-chan made her way downstairs, passing the boys on her way. There was a mumbled greeting between them, and then she took in the Koneko's other occupants at the moment.

Ken was bustling about the shop, moving potted plants and moving things from shelf to shelf. At the bottom of the steps, one step below where she stopped, stood the blonde man she had seen the day before. He looked at her briefly and nodded. Youji was moving back to the counter with his redheaded friend. 

She frowned. They all seemed to be in such a dismal mood. Ken, who usually grinned happily, was frowning and working in a frenzy, and Youji, who flirted with her, kept glaring at the redhead. It was confusing, to say the least.

Farfello watched Ken walk past him to go into the back, and then watched as he passed by again with a large pot in his hands. Intent as he was on his tasks, ignoring Farfello and doing as much as possible to keep from standing still, he wasn't concentrating on his feet. Farfello shifted as he neared him, and Ken's feet stumbled into each other. He jerked forward, already putting his hands out to break his fall, when a strong arm wrapped around his stomach and kept him outright. Another arm snaked out to grab the pot before it could fall.

Ken swallowed hard, his head swiveling around to stare into Farfello's eyes. The blonde was holding him close in a tight grip with the plant pressed partially between them. Etiquette demanded that he thank his rescuer, but he couldn't force the words. For some reason, his heart chose that moment to clog in this throat and he stared mutely at the man holding him up.

He blinked, and in the instant that his eyes were closed, he felt Farfello press his lips against his own. Instead of fighting, he let his body sag. Surprised, Farfello lost his grip and both Ken and plant went tumbling to the floor. When he landed, he rolled away quickly and got to his feet, his eyes wide.

Farfello continued to stare at him, his face unreadable. Ken drew in a shuddery breath and took the only course of action he could: he ran out of the Koneko and as far from Farfello as he could. 

He got as far as the soccer field.

0_~ 

Youji stared at Farfello as Ken disappeared out the door. The Irishman watched his friend leave with a frown, his fair eyebrows pulled low over his eye and patch. He blinked, twice and then looked down at the broken flowerpot.

"Hm." He made the noise in the back of his throat, a sound that indicated that he was considering something. Schuldig leaned closer to Youji's shoulder.

"He doesn't know what to do now," the redhead said quietly. "Of course, he hasn't known what to do since the beginning, but I don't think he expected Ken to get away from him today."

Youji turned to look at the man beside him. "What does he want from Ken, anyway?"

"That's between them," Schuldig answered cryptically, returning to his seat in time for Farfello to fly out the door in a belated attempt to follow Ken. "I will tell you this much: Ken has his work cut out for him."

"I'm sure," Youji agreed, standing to find a place for the arrangement he'd just finished. He wasn't the best at that sort of work, but the result was passable. 

"It seems that I have mine cut out for me, also," he leered at Youji, but was ignored, as he had been for most of the day. "You're really no fun like this, Balinese."

"If you're looking for fun, you may want to go find your psychopath before he does something to my friend."

"Hm…yes, that may be a good idea," Schuldig said. Youji looked at him in surprise; he hadn't expected the redhead to capitulate that easily to his suggestion. "Don't worry, lovely. I'll return shortly."

"Don't rush on my account," Youji returned sarcastically. When he turned back to the counter, Schuldig was gone. A gentle hand touched his arm and he turned to look at Aya-chan in surprise.

"What is going on, Youji-kun?" He sighed and gritted his teeth.

*_* `_O

Ken was swarmed by kids only a few blocks from the shop and he stopped willingly when one of the smaller girls held up a soccer ball. Playing with the neighborhood kids would give him something to do besides think and it would give him a reason to be away from the shop.

He quickly divided the children into groups, trying to split them up into equal teams for an interesting game. They were just getting the game underway when he caught sight of Farfello slowly approaching from the direction of the shop. He was walking with a slow gait, his eye fixed on Ken; even from a distance, Ken could see that the Irishman's attention was fixed on him.

He looked fearfully at the kids that were still playing so innocently. He drew in a breath and moved to intercept the blonde, but before he could, the ball sailed through the air and landed at his feet. Farfello paused and looked down at the bi-colored ball with a small frown. One of the children ran up to him and picked up the ball, then looked up at the stranger standing over it.

"Who are you?" the little boy asked, his eyes bright with curiosity. Ken bit his lip and waited; ready to protect the child however he had to if Farfello tried something. A golden-eye blinked down at the child and it was a moment before the blonde answered.

"Farfello."

"What happened to your eye?" the child asked with a lack of tact and common sense that he should have learned by his age.

The pause this time was longer and Ken saw with trepidation that Farfello's hands were clenched at his side. "God took it."

"Why would God want it?"

"I don't know." Farfello's voice lowered. When Ken looked into his eye, he was shocked by the complete lack of emotion in it. The little boy looked at him a moment longer, but was apparently satisfied, because he ran off without asking any more questions. Farfello looked up at Ken. "I don't know why, and that's another thing he will suffer for."

With that, he turned and walked away. Ken raised an eyebrow and watched him walk away. When he was out of sight, Ken relaxed and sighed. His head was pounding and he didn't see how the day could get any more confusing.

@_@

Wow. That is, I do believe, by far the longest chapter. I'm proud of me today, and so should you all be.

What is Farfie's problem? Where is Schuldig if Farfello is leaving? What are Nagi and Omi up to? Why hasn't Ran come out of his room yet? 

Coming soon to a site near you: 'ItCoS: The Day Continues'.


	6. ItCoS: The Day Continues

Part 6: 'ItCoS: The Day Continues' 

Warning: This is mostly for future chapters. This will eventually progress into a lemon (ie. There _will_ be sex between two men. If this bothers anyone, never fear, for I will make that part very easy to skip. In the near future, there will be language and violence. A little way beyond that, we'll have lime.

*_*

It wasn't too long after Farferello left that Schuldig arrived. He watched from the side of the park as Ken continued to referee the children. A few minutes passed before Ken realized that he and his little group had company. 

"What do you want? Youji uninterested in playing your games?"  


"Nah, Siberian. I was worried about you. I saw Farfie leaving after you and wanted to make sure he didn't decided to play rough with you." Ken's eyes widened, and then narrowed into slits. Schuldig held his hands up to ward off anything Ken might have to say. "Don't get your knickers in a knot, Siberian. I come in peace, I promise."

'And I'm sure his promises are worth so much,' Ken thought untrustingly. One red eyebrow rose and he barely suppressed a wince when he remembered that the other man heard his thoughts as clearly as he did Ken's voice. 'Oops.'

"Don't worry about it, Siberian. I'm not offended. Much." He grinned easily. "Remember that we're not enemies anymore. I don't have a reason to lie to you."

"Really?" They stared at each other for a moment, before Ken nodded grudgingly. "Then tell me what you want with Youji." The German, shrugged as if he had expected that question -'which he probably had,' Ken realized-.

"I guess we haven't made it as obvious as we could have, " Schuldig started slowly. He winked and leaned closer to Ken. "We're wooing you, Weiss. Schwartz and Weiss, black and white. We're trying to make everything gray."

"You're after Youji; Nagi and Omi are…" he trailed off, not knowing what his young friend was doing with the telekinetic. "The psycho won't leave me alone, and Crawford…" Again he trailed off, but this time his eyes widened when his brain realized one very possible reason why Ran hadn't been present for breakfast, though the other man was normally punctual. "Oh, my."

"Yes, well." Schuldig shrugged. "Some of us are having better luck than others. I, for example, can't even get Balinese to look at me." He sounded put out.

Ken looked away, his gaze directed in the general vicinity of the Koneko. A small smile graced his lips. "Don't call him Balinese, for starters. His name is Youji. Youji-kun. Youji-chan. Even Yotan. The war is over and the codenames are a reminder that none of us need."

"Okay, no Balinese. I'm guessing that that would go for the rest of you as well?"

Ken nodded. "Um, another thing," he said, looking uncertain. "I don't know how much you've read in Youji's mind, but from what I know of him…you're the first guy that…if your little plan works, you'll be the first guy that Youji's been with. I think. And if you are, you have to know that he's probably not really comfortable like that."

"Like what?" Schuldig asked. He wanted someone to tell him, instead of having to dig inside his or her thoughts to get the information he wanted.

"I'm not sure. I don't really…I'm not really experienced about this, but it seems to me that with women, Youji had to be something and with you, he'd have to be different. Instead of being the one in control, you're kind of asking him to give the control to you. You're pushing, where he's normally doing the pushing, you know?" Ken shrugged, not certain that that had come out the way he had wanted it to.

Schuldig nodded though, as if that was enough of an explanation.

0_o

Ran woke up quickly, awareness coming almost instantly as the body next to his shifted. Violet eyes opened wide in the dimly lit room. Sunlight filtered through the sides of a curtain, but no direct lighting found its way inside.

The arm around his waist tightened and his body was pressed close to the man in bed with him, so that they were pressed front to front, tightly. From the set of the other man's body, he knew that Crawford was awake, and since the other man had drawn him closer, he probably knew that Ran was awake.

The room was silent, except for the sound of the clock on the dresser as it ticked the seconds past. Ran closed his eyes and waited for the other man to speak. He expected something, probably gloating or a smug look. He wasn't expecting the soft kiss that was planted on the top of his head.

A hand started to rub his back, moving in small circles. He kept his body taut, not wanting to give in to the caress and relax. His obstinacy earned him another kiss, this one to his temple, before being rolled onto his back, Crawford leaning over him.

Brown eyes met violet and the silence stretched, wrapping around them with a thin fiber that slowly brought their heads together, until their lips met. Mouths opened and tongues explored, Ran's eyes closing under the onslaught of sensation.

0_0

Omi smiled, his eyebrows creasing together in an almost wicked expression. In one hand, he held a bowl of strawberries, and in the other a can of ready-to-serve whipped topping in a spray can.

From his reclining position on the bed, Nagi smiled, his eyes trailing from Omi's knees upwards, until his gaze settled on the other boy's face. The smile was one of hunger, and Omi approached the bed.

0_~

After Aya-chan left, the shop was empty. It seemed that most of their clientele, otherwise known as the group of obsessive fan girls that flocked to the Koneko on a daily basis, were otherwise engaged, or someone had called a bomb threat on the building that kept them away.

At first, he was grateful for the silence left in Aya-chan's wake, but then he realized that it allowed him too much time to think, something he didn't want to do in light of the fact that his thoughts were centered around a certain redheaded German.

'At least he can't read my thoughts. Or, at least he -claims- that he can't read my thoughts. Who knows what he's capable of?' The bell above the door announced that someone had entered the shop. Youji turned from where he was arranging flowers in a vase. One yellow eye peered back at him.

He resisted the urge to sigh dramatically. 'Where is Ken and why do I have to deal with his new 'friend?' The blonde strode further into the room, his body turning so that he could keep Youji in his line of vision.

"Where's Ken?" Youji asked. The other man shrugged, his thin shoulders rising slightly in his blue, sleeveless shirt. Green eyes rolled, breaking contact momentarily. When he again looked at Farferello, the Irishman was holding out a wad of leather bands that Youji realized were the straps of a straightjacket. "Dude, I'm not putting that on. If you want to play with someone, find Ken. Or better yet, ask the German to play with you."

"Please. Put this on me." Youji stared at him in nothing short of astonishment. He took in the red spots on the cheeks and the trembling of the hand that held the jacket, and made a quick decision. He led Farferello into the back of the shop and sat him down on a chair, then quickly tied him into the jacket. Done, he stepped back. 

The Irishman sat on the chair with his head down; his body slumped forward as if he'd collapse in on himself if he weren't connected to the back of the chair. Youji frowned, but didn't say anything as he backed out of the room.

At two o'clock, the shop began to overflow with people. Youji grumbled under his breath as he realized that his short break from their fan club was over. Luckily, Omi and Nagi appeared before his nerve endings could frazzle completely.

"Konnichiwa, Youji-kun!" called Omi cheerfully. One blonde eyebrow raised as his green eyes took in their appearance. Their clothes were a little mussed, almost as if they'd dressed hurriedly, and Youji could swear that Nagi had come in in the outfit that Omi was wearing.

A grin split his face and Omi froze halfway across the shop, correctly interpreting the look. Nagi, walking behind him, walked into the other boy. He followed Omi's worried gaze and smiled self-consciously. Youji winked and turned back to his latest arrangement, ignoring the fan girls with practiced ease.

Nagi wasn't so lucky. Whereas the members of Weiss were used to working around their loud, chattering crowd, Nagi was new to the scene. The girls took advantage of this and backed him into the nearest wall as they chattered and asked him questions. He looked pleadingly at Omi, who shrugged and got to work, leaving his 'friend' to deal with the fan club.

A short while later, Schuldig returned and resumed his place behind the counter, staring at Youji. A few seconds later, he was followed by Ken, who arrived at the same time that Ran and Crawford made their appearance. The four members of Weiss looked at each other. Ran looked as calm as he normally did; the only noticeable change was Crawford's possessive hold at his hip.

With a frown, Ken moved quickly across the shop and donned his apron, then turned to work. 

Youji turned to Schuldig. "Your friend's in back." 'He's in the storeroom on the right, wearing a straight jacket.' He sent the though as best he could. Green eyes met green and Schuldig nodded. He started towards the back of the store, then turned abruptly and grabbed Ken's arm. Without a word, he pulled the younger man after him. Ken followed with a frown, but didn't struggle.

Schuldig released his hold on Ken as they stopped outside of the storeroom door. "He's in there," Schuldig said quietly.

"So?" Ken whispered back. He took a step backwards, but the redhead wouldn't let him retreat. 

"So, go in there. You still have questions, and he's the only one that can give you the answers. He's defenseless as he will ever be, which isn't saying much, but this may well be your only chance." The German spoke seriously and Ken had no doubt that he was probably right.

Schuldig left him alone. It took Ken several minutes to gather the determination to open the door. The light in the little storeroom was on. The chair faced the doorway, but the man in it had his head down and his eyes closed.

"I thought Schu would come for me," Farferello said quietly, not looking up. Ken hesitated before shutting the door.

"How did you know I wasn't Schuldig?" he asked. His eyes ran over the prone figure, feeling a stirring of pity at the sad picture the man created, sitting tied in a chair, and his body slumped.

"Your footfall is quiet, but discernible, your strides short and slow. Very distinct pattern."

"You can pick out a person by the way they walk?" asked Ken. He hadn't thought about it much before, but Farferello was probably a very talented man.

Said man looked up, his eye slitting open to reveal just a glimmer of gold. "I can pick -you- out by the way you walk," he corrected. "I would hazard a guess that you didn't come in here of your free will, so Schuldig -was- the one to escort you."

"Yeah. He's really helpful," Ken said sarcastically. He looked around for another chair, but didn't see one. With a huff, he settled on the floor, sitting cross-legged three feet away from Farferello's chair. The Irishman regarded him silently while he situated himself comfortably. When Ken looked back up, the eye closed. "What do you want from me?"

"'For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son,'" a grim smile appeared and his face turned up to the ceiling, though he didn't open his eyes. "'Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.' Romans, chapter five, verse ten and James, chapter five, verse six, respectively."

The smile turned to a snarl and his body arched, seemed to stretch against his bindings. 

"'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned'. Romans, five-twelve. [1]" Slowly, he lowered his head and met Ken's gaze. "You will not resist me. I will bring you to sin."

"I don't have to resist you. At the moment, you're in no position to bring me to -anything- let alone sin."

"True," Farferello agreed, nodding. "However, you are only safe as long as I an in this position. What will you do when I am free again?"

"Run," Ken answered seriously. Farferello's lips quirked and he looked to the side. Ken felt his own lips twitch in response. "Who tied you up and why?"

"Balinese, because I asked him to," came the answer, stated calmly. The blonde's face was still averted. "Normally, Schu and Nagi are kind enough to keep me under control when my emotions threaten to overwhelm me, but they weren't around."

"You actually asked Youji-kun to bind you?" Ken asked, his expression incredulous. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Never mind. I don't want to know. I really don't. I'm not going to help you hurt God and I don't really plan on letting you 'bring' me to sin, so why don't you just give up and find another way?"

"Do you really wish to resist?" Farferello's voice was a soft, throaty burr. "You can not deny that your pulse reacted to my touch. If you were unaffected, you wouldn't be as upset as you are. It is because you fear that you -could- be attracted to me that you want me to leave you be. You do not want to confront that part of you."

"I don't want to 'confront' the part of me that could be messed up enough to want a guy who cuts himself and licks knives and who's greatest ambition in life is to hurt God. Excuse me for wanting to keep my world as -sane- as possible!"

"But your world is not sane." Farferello turned his head to look at ken. "You have blood on your hands and have known violence in your heart, and you are no different than I." Ken's fingers curled into his palms and he gritted his teeth. If there had been less truth in his words, he could have gotten up and left. He would have argued and told the Irishman to have fun in the fiery pit for eternity.

Yet there was truth in what he said. There was blood on both their hands, no matter the source of the blood. Ken might have for a good cause, but he was still a killer. The violence…yes, there was violence inside of him. Pain and anger that existed even though he no longer hunted the beasts of darkness. "It does not go away."

Ken sighed tiredly. 

.

"No more quotes, no more sinning or God, or anything else. I'm going to bed." He stood up and stretched, then started to leave. At the doorway, he paused and dared a glance over his shoulder. Farferello's eye was pinned on him, but when their gazes clashed, the Irishman closed his eye and turned his head away again. "Goodnight," he said softly.

"Óiche mhaith [2]." He frowned at the odd sounding words. His eyes scanned the other man for a brief moment before leaving.

@_@

[1] Taken from the King James's Version of the Bible (though if you read the NIV passages, some of it sounds just a little cooler).

[2] Gaelic for 'good night'. 

Author's note: That chapter took long enough. I know that no one else may notice, since I post so sporadically. The reason that it's taken me so long is because I had to have this chapter written to make sure I set it up right.


	7. ItCoS: What It Takes

Warning: some religious content, violence, and spoilers. Also, for the highly/slightly religious, some content that could/should be considered blasphemy and lots and lots of angst/drama/romance.

*_*

Ken woke at dawn the following day. He stayed still in his bed for several seconds before he decided that he was alone. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the gray shadows of light playing over his ceiling. He blinked, his eyes adjusting quickly, and then he sat up, running a hand through his hair to push his bangs back from his face.

He froze, his fingertips having just come in contact with his forehead, when he saw the figure sitting in the chair at the end of his bed. A golden eye watched him with an unwavering and unblinking gaze. 

With a sigh, he sat up a little straighter and moved so that he was sitting near the head of the bed with his pillows offering a little support to his back. He tucked the sheet around his hips, his eyes never leaving the face of the man in front of him. Finally, when the silence in the little room seemed to thick, he asked quietly, "Why?"

If he had expected an answer, he would have been disappointed. Farferello simply continued to stare at him…'or through me', he realized suddenly. He brought his legs underneath him and leaned forward, cautiously approaching the end of the bed. Never once did the Irishman's gaze waver.

He slid off the bed and walked the two feet to the chair in his pajama pants, his chest bared. When he knelt in front of the chair, he realized for the first time that the blonde hadn't been looking so much at him as in his direction, for the gaze didn't follow him. He raised a hand and ever so gently touched his fingertip to the brow above the eye, and then brought his finger down in a slow motion. 

At his touch, the eye shut, and that seemed to send a signal to the body finally that the other man was asleep, for his body slumped forward. The momentum sent then both sprawling to the floor, Ken pinned under the other man's body.

For the second day in a row, he was trapped while Farferello slept.

0_o

Ran sat at the end of his bed, his back to the man lying indolently across the other side. He rubbed his temple, feeling the beginning of a headache. He stiffened slightly as a nail scratched lightly down his spine, and then he relaxed into the touch. His head turned and his eyes met those of his lover.

Brad's smile was lazy and smug, his eyes satisfied and his body sated. For the morning, at least. He shifted so that he could press his lips against Ran's back, eliciting a shiver in response. "We should get up soon," Brad said, the first to speak. Ran nodded and moved to stand up, but the American gripped the sheets that were still wrapped around the slender man, and he used them to topple the redhead back into bed. 

"I take it you didn't mean now," Ran said, considering, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Not now," Brad agreed, pulling the other man beneath him with a smirk. "And I said -should-. Not -will-."

0_0

Omi sighed happily and relaxed into Nagi's embrace. The younger boy hugged him tighter and nuzzled his neck, making the older giggle. "Stop tickling, Nagi," Omi reprimanded laughingly. In response, he felt a tickling feeling on his feet and sides simultaneously, and he squirmed until he was facing Nagi.

They kissed, and the tickling stopped as Nagi concentrated on the feeling of Omi over him, his hands already skimming up the other boy's sides. When they broke apart, Nagi brought his hand up and cupped Omi's face. "I love you."

"Hm…love you, too."

0_~

'Why me?' Youji asked himself. He was alone in his room, a cigarette clamped between his lips as he watched the sunrise as best he could from his window. 'Damn German. Made my life difficult when we're enemies and makes it worse when we're not.'

He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and held it between two fingers of his right hand, watching the end glow and the wisps of smoke twirl out his window. When it was down to the filter, he stubbed it out, flicking the butt into the alleyway below.

'Okay, he can't hear me unless I want him too, right? So…Schwartz!' he tried to direct the thought as best he could. Five minutes passed as he waited, and then snorted at his own foolishness. What was he going to with the German so early in the morning, anyway? He turned from the window.

'Yotan?' the question registered in his mind and he froze, his breath coming short, as he felt -something- in his mind. 

'Kami-sama, what do I do now?' he asked himself, feeling the sensation disappear. He turned back to the window and looked out, but still saw nothing. Then something flashed out of the corner to his right and he looked closer to the building on that side. Two buildings down, he saw Schuldig sitting on a fire escape, his gaze fixed on Youji's window. 'Are you coming inside?'

'Is that an invitation?' came the reply. Youji thought he could sense a good deal of skepticism in the question and for good reason, too.

'Yes, I think it is,' he answered. He backed away from the window and waited, but didn't have to wait long. The German latched onto the frame and then slipped into the room, looking at the screen less window with interest. Then his gaze came to rest on Youji.

*_* 

The second time Ken woke up, he had a crick in his neck and a hand in his pants. He would claim the crick, but the hand did -not- belong to him.

He pushed away from the body behind him, effectively dislodging the hand that was cupping his hip. He ignored the warmth that spread from the feel of flesh on flesh and instead concentrated on getting off the bed without falling on his face because his legs were tangled in the sheets.

He heard a chuckle when he finally managed to stand, and he turned around to see Farferello propped on his elbow, watching him with a smile. "You are very interesting when you're trying to run from me."

"I'm so glad that you find chasing me amusing," Ken replied sarcastically, feeling his cheeks burn.

"I find you more amazing than amusing," the blonde said, turning to the other side of the bed to rise to his feet across the mattress from Ken. He wasn't looking at Ken, but that little reply had Ken's attention fixed solely on him. Speaking in a tone that seemed more introspective than flattering, the man continued. "You have a certain beauty to the way you move. Especially when you fight."

He looked up and he scanned Ken's face as he walked around the bed with a fluid, feline grace. 

"You're very enthralling to watch." He approached Ken with the same steady stride, and it took Ken a moment to register his nearness, and by then the other man had moved away. "Your passion is enticing and I ache to see more of it."

With that, he opened the door and slipped into the silent hallway, leaving Ken to stare after him, amazed at the words and the reaction they had on his body. He whimpered quietly and sat back on his bed, pulling a pillow from the head of the bed and setting it in his lap, trying to hide his erection.

It was useless, because even out of sight, -he- knew what the other man had just managed to do.

~~~~~_____~~~~~

Ken was sure that the stress was going to kill him. He kept jumping whenever anyone called his name, though he hadn't seen Farferello since that morning. He noticed that the other three seemed to be present once again, since Ran had finally deemed his coworkers worthy of his company once again. Aya-chan had mentioned the day before that he wasn't 'feeling well'. Ken wanted to laugh at the thought of Ran calling in sick to spend the day with Crawford.

His amusement was short-lived, however, when he saw the way the American seemed to be around Ran constantly without being in his way, and the smooth way he talked with Aya-chan, as if it was nothing for him to be sleeping with the redhead, or courting him, or whatever he was doing.

'I don't care, either', Ken tried to tell himself, feeling more frustrated by the minute. Nagi and Omi were being cuddly and cute, and it was enough to make him gag, a reaction that would have surprised him if his nerves weren't so stretched.

Then there was Youji and Schuldig, who weren't helping his anxiety any. They seemed to have reached some sort of understanding, for they were working together, most of the time in perfect harmony without word that any of the others could hear. 

He was about ready to growl that he was going for lunch when a he heard the sound of glass shattering. He turned, as did the others, to see Brad clenching the broken fragments of a vase in his hands, his eyes hard and his face the implacable mask that Ken had come to expect.

As one, three corners of Schwartz came together and then left, leaving no explanation in their wake. As they walked past the big window in front, Ken saw Schuldig turn to look at -him-, and felt something in the pit of his stomach. Without giving himself a chance to think twice, he whipped his apron over his head and ran upstairs to his room.

When he ran by a moment later with his claws in hand, the other three weren't far behind.

0_` *_*

The policy of the Church is what could be classified as 'open door'. Their doors were open to all visitors who may come in to worship or seek comfort or reaffirmation of faith. That policy, however, did not exactly extend to allowing a one-eyed Irishman to hold a priest at knifepoint while he demanded answers that the young cleric couldn't answer.

Ken followed Crawford, Schuldig, and Nagi into the church, his hands slipping on the still-familiar gloves without his attention. He wasn't in full gear, but the loose shorts and T-shirt he had chosen should suffice if he even -needed- to use his weapon.

Once inside, it took them all a moment to locate Farferello. Schuldig was the first to spot him and move closer, but the Irishman caught sight of them at the same time and told them to stay back in an eerily calm voice. Ken was surprised to see them comply.

He saw Brad nod, almost imperceptibly, and he saw Nagi's hands clench, and he knew that whatever they had planned would probably still get the priest killed. He pushed between them, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Put the knife down," he ordered, his voice sharp. The Irishman smiled and brought the point of his weapon closer to the priest's throat. Ken swallowed.

"Have you come to fight me?" Farferello asked conversationally, his eye fixed on Ken. There was a hint of anger in his eyes, and…'pain,' Ken recognized. Still, he could almost feel the other man's control, and he wondered how long it would be before it slipped.

In answer, Ken slipped his gloves from his hands and held them out to the side. Schuldig took them, and he could feel the redhead probing his mind. He blocked as well as he could, having no training. The probing stopped and he felt more than saw the three step backwards, leaving him to face Farferello.

"Ah, so the kitty has been de-clawed. But that does not mean that you can't still hiss and bite, kitty." He smiled, his lips twisting to bare his canines.

Ken took two steps forward, his eyes on the Irishman the entire time. "Come outside with me," he requested softly. "Let him go and come outside with me."

"Ah-uh." The blonde shook his head. "You're supposed to offer me something in return for his life, kitty. What will you give me if I let him go? Would I earn a kiss?"

"No." Ken took a deep, steadying breath. "Just come with me, please." He heard Brad say something to Nagi about being 'ready', and he knew that his chance at negotiations was coming to a close.

"I think not." There was a cold quality in Farferello's voice as his eye swept over Ken and then back up to his face. "What will you give me for his life and my cooperation?"

Ken closed his eyes, thinking. He could offer a kiss, and that might be enough to lure him out. Or he could offer him his body, since he wanted it so badly, but that…his eyes snapped open and he took another step forward, putting him close enough to drop his voice another notch. "Nothing. I'm asking you for something."

"Oh, but that is not fair, my kitty. Give me a kiss and I will let him go and leave with you." There was a gleam in his eyes that flashed for an instant and was gone again. Ken wasn't sure if he'd seen it or if it hand been a figment of his imagination. 

"No." Ken shook his head. "No deal."

"Why?" the Irishman asked, his head tilting to the side.

"No." Ken shook his head forcibly. "No reasons, no more talking. If you want anything from me, you have to give me your trust first," he said firmly, holding his hand out. There was a long hesitation as everyone seemed to hold their breath and it lasted so long that Ken thought he had lost whatever war he had just fought, but then Farferello pushed the priest away and took Ken's hand, his knife disappearing, tucked back into where ever it went.

"Now move!" Brad ordered, and Ken knew that it was directed at him, but he ignored it anyway. He pulled Farferello closer, unconsciously shielding him with his body.

Farferello stared down at him, his hand clenched around Ken's. "I could kill you."

"Yes, you could," Ken agreed, his eyes meeting one golden orb.

"But I won't," the Irishman continued, his voice lowering. "And do you know why?" Ken shook his head, his breath catching in his throat as Farferello drew closer. His eyelids slid half closed and he swallowed hard. "Because I will not make you a martyr." Ken's eyes snapped open. "I'd rather make you a sinner."

Then Farferello's lips were on his, and his brain shut down completely.

@_@

Hm…interesting. That was a pain to write. I think I like it though. Not that I get paid to think…Massive spoilers coming in the next few chapters, while I wind this little ficlet down.

Nagi and Omi come out of the closet! Brad and Ran are faced with an unharsh reality. Schuldig and Youji compare sizes, and Ken shows how smart he really is.

Next time, on 'In the Company of Strangeness': 'Farferello vs. God'


	8. ItCoS: Farferello Vs God

'ItCoS 8: Farferello vs. God'

MASSIVE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!

All previous warnings apply PLUS: ouch-factor.

*_* 0_o 0_0 0_~

Ken's first instinct was to draw back, but he managed to control the impulse. Barely. He gripped Farferello's forearm for a place to put his left hand. His right hand was still held by the Irishman.

The other members of Weiss looked shell-shocked, and even Schuldig appeared surprised. Nagi clapped quietly and grinned, and Brad looked at his watch with a bored expression. The kiss continued.

Ran got over his surprise and crossed his arms, his eyes boring holes into Brad. The American looked at him and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'what'. "Some warning next time would be appreciated," Ran said, voice hard.

"Don't look at me. I didn't see this. Not that, anyway," Brad gestured to the two still lip-locked. "Farferello is hard to predict."

Nagi looked at Schuldig curiously. "What kind of advice did you give him?"

The redhead shook his head and held his hands up in front of him. "I had nothing to do with it," he denied. 

Still mostly the center of attention, Ken began to hesitantly return the kiss, his lips parting under gentle pressure from Farferello's tongue.

"Is that safe?" Youji asked as they watched Farferello pull Ken a little closer, one hand holding the back of Ken's head and the other moving to rest on his hip. Released, Ken's hand slipped to the blonde's left arm of its own volition.

"All right, everyone," Omi said loudly, trying to draw the attention away from Ken and Farferello. "Let's get out of here before the police arrive."

"Who's breaking up the lovers, then?" asked Youji. Schuldig sighed when he saw Nagi and Youji both look at him expectantly.

'Farfie, let the kitty go so we can leave,' he tried good-naturedly. The blonde ignored him. He sighed again. 'Ken, break it up, please. We need to leave. -Now-.'

The dark-haired man pulled away quickly, his eyes wide and his breathing labored. He looked around wildly, and then raised a hand to his lips, his expression stunned. When the sounds of sirens alerted the group that the police had come, he dashed quickly through the back of the church, the other seven quickly moving to follow him out. 

They reached the alley behind the church and branched off into two groups, Weiss taking one direction and Schwartz taking the other. Farferello was halfway down the alleyway before he stopped suddenly and turned around. The other three stopped as well and turned back in time to see Weiss disappear around a corner.

The back door to the church flew open and hit the wall, its hinges shuddering under the force. A swarm of cops exited, guns drawn and cheesy lines flying threw the air. Schwartz turned and started running, and gunshots rang out behind them.

0_0 0_~ 0_o *_*

Weiss diverged into four different directions at the first opportunity, and so returned to the shop at different times. Omi was first and was followed shortly after by Youji. Ran didn't arrive for half an hour after the both of them, and it was dark before Ken walked quietly into the shop.

They were all waiting rather anxiously, though only Omi seemed to show it. Youji stubbed out his cigarette when the other man walked in, and Ran straightened up, his gaze intent.

Ken shut the door behind him with a soft click and then turned to stare at them, his face drawn. Omi stepped forward, his young face expressing his concern. "Ken?"

"I'm fine, Omi-kun." He waved the boy away, his motions jerky. "I'm going to bed," he announced quietly. He was almost to the stairs when Youji intercepted him.

"If you want to talk…" he let the invitation hang in the air. Ken stared at him for a moment, and then smiled tiredly. 

"If I wanted to talk, I'd ask someone who knew what they were talking about," he responded, not unkindly. They stared at each other for a few seconds more and then Youji nodded in concession and stepped back. "Night."

"Good night, Ken," Ran said, his eyes trained on his dark-haired coworker. Ken offered him a smile and a nod, and then made his weary way upstairs. He crossed paths with Aya-chan, who was carrying a load of clothes towards the stairs.

"Ken-chan? Are you okay?" He nodded at her and went to move past, but she stopped him with a hand on her arm. "You have three brothers downstairs who will listen, and you have a sister who will listen when they will not," she informed him. He stared at her, then his gaze fell and he stepped away.

"Thank you," he said as he made his way to his room. She sighed when his door shut.

"Silly boys. All think they're alone and don't even realize that none of them would let that happen to any of them." She smiled slightly, hitching the basket on her hip and making her way carefully down the stairs. "Ah, well. They'll learn in time." She hoped.

*_* 0_~

Ken didn't wake up in the morning to being pressed down by Farferello's body, nor did the other man sneaking into his room wake him up. Instead, his alarm went off like it normally did and he rose from bed to face an empty room.

He dressed quickly and made his way to the kitchen, where Youji was drinking tea. Green eyes peered up at him as he poured a cup for himself and sat across from his friend. They were silent as they each drank their tea, and Ken was fine with the lack of conversation. When Youji stood up to refill his cup, he leaned back against the counter instead of returning to his chair.

"It's okay, you know," Youji said quietly, his attention fixed on his cup.

Ken looked up and smiled slightly. "That would sound more convincing if you believed it."

Green eyes looked up and the blonde smiled. "True. However, I've found that empty words help if I don't take them to heart."

"True," Ken agreed, chuckling softly. "Will you do me a favor?"

"Sure." Youji nodded.

"Ask your boyfriend to keep a better eye on his friend." Youji's eyes narrowed and he raised an eyebrow.

"Hidaka," he said warningly.

"Kudou," Ken said with equal rigidity. "At this point in time, I don't really care what the German is to you. I just don't wish to have to deal with the albino today, okay? Please?" The last word came out pleadingly, his eyes revealing more of his inner turmoil than his face or attitude had prior to that moment.

After a moment, Youji nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Ken said gratefully, his face creasing into a facsimile of his normal grin. "That's all I can ask."

0_`

With the sense of calm normally only applied to doctors under such stress, Brad brought the forceps up to eye level and admired the bullet between the tips of the tiny instrument. "Impressive. I counted another hole on this side. Schuldig?"

Across the table, the redhead looked up from where he was patching Farferello's left side. "Two," the German counted, indicating the spot he was working on and another bandage on the arm nearest him. "Nagi?"

"Bleeding has stopped and respiration is normal," the boy answered, checking the blonde's pulse as he spook. "Farferello?"

"Are you finished yet?" the Irishman asked, his voice balanced between boredom and curiosity.

"We're almost finished," Brad answered, his gaze meeting Schuldig's. The redhead nodded and moved away and Brad turned his attention to the man on the table. "That was foolish."

"Yes," Farferello said softly, his lips curved in a thin smirk.

"Farferello?" Nagi called softly, moving around Brad to stand at the end of the table, where Farferello's head rested on the cool metal surface. "Don't -ever- do that again."

His eye opened, and he blinked up at the boy. After a long pause, he nodded once. 

"Thank you." Nagi touched the blonde's shoulder, his hand gentle over the bandage there. "Thank you very much."

Schuldig

*_*

Ken was -not- talking about it. Youji had tried to broach the subject after breakfast and received a flowerpot on his foot for his trouble. Omi was drenched in the hose for his attempt, and Ran didn't even bother. He stayed behind the counter and stared holes through the other three.

The lunch hour came and went with little conversation between the four. Aya-chan's presence for most of the early afternoon kept them in line; no one was willing to risk Ran's anger if they upset his anger. Ran was too busy evading her questions about the previous two days.

Seemed to be going well until the afternoon rush, when the bell above the door chimed and indicated the normal post-school rush. Fan girlish chatter instantly ruined the quiet atmosphere and any chance at conversation was lost in the ensuing chaos.

It wasn't until nearly closing time that the level of noise in the Koneko finally dropped to a peaceable level, meaning that Ran had finally scared off the schoolgirls, including his sister. Aya-chan was spending the night with friends, leaving the men to tend to themselves.

"I'm going out," announced Youji, already apron-less and heading for the stairs. The sound of the bell stopped him, his right foot on the first stair. 

"Ah," a nasal-voice said happily. "My sweet. Going somewhere?" Schuldig asked, loud enough to bring Omi from the back room, where he'd been putting away the broom.

Youji rolled his eyes and turned around. "Far, far away from you," he answered with a wink. 

"I'm hurt, Bal-" he broke off. His smile widened. "I'm hurt, Youji-kun. I was hoping you'd like my company."

One blonde eyebrow shot up at the way that Schuldig changed his style of address. 'Youji-kun, is it?' He smirked. "Are you going to follow me around then? …Schuldig-chan?" The diminutive practically dropped, honey-coated, from his lips.

"Of course, Youji-kun." The blonde rolled his eyes again and went upstairs, the redhead quickly following on his heels. They left a feeling of hushed expectancy behind while the other three waited to see who else would show up. 

When the door didn't open for several minutes, Omi finally sighed and moved to lock it. With another sigh, this one larger than the last, he turned to face the room at large. "Well, that's disappointing. I was hoping that Nagi would visit."

"We should all look forward to such a visit," Ran said dryly. The younger two looked at him sharply, but he ignored the look. "Aya's gone for the night. I won't return until tomorrow."

"Where are -you- going?" Omi asked. Ran looked at him, his eyes a deep purple. "Never mind. Good night, Ran-kun."

"Good night, Omi," the red-haired man returned. Omi started towards the stair and their paths crossed. Ran reached out. "Look after him, please?"

Omi smiled softly. "Of course. Look after yourself."

0_0 *_*

With a flourish, Omi placed a bowl of green tea ice cream in front of Ken. "Here!"

"Thank you," Ken said reflexively, a spoon already clenched in his hand. His movements were automated, as if his train of thought was far away from eating ice cream with his young friend.

"Ken?" Omi called quietly.

"Hm?" The response was half-hearted and Omi sighed.

After a moment, Omi started talking anyway, his eyes fixed on his own dish. "It is okay, isn't it? We're not enemies. There isn't any danger, yet…I almost feel bad. I know that the others are-" he paused. He chose his words carefully and continued. "-Adapting, but it's still. After everything that happened, it was still really easy to be friends with him. Almost too easy. I keep waiting for the bad stuff to start."

"Don't look at it like that," Ken said, unexpectedly. Omi blinked up at him, surprised to find Ken's eyes on him. "It's not as easy as it seems, or you wouldn't be questioning it. Kritiker is gone. We have -no- enemies. It is -okay- to feel for him…" he trailed off, his eyes growing distant again.

"Then why are you so upset?" Omi asked directly, his voice taking on a firmness that would have made Ran proud. "They're not enemies anymore, and despite what anyone else may say, it's okay if you're both guys!" The boy was getting excited, his voice taking on an argumentative quality. He was ready to counter almost anything Ken could have said.

"It's not that, Omi-kun," Ken said quietly, a small smile playing at his lips. "I'm just trying to figure out what I should do."

Omi took a deep breath and wilted, the fight going out of him. "It's not easy, is it? He's…odd."

"He's stark, raving mad, Omi. The few times he's seemed semi-lucid, he still goes on about hurting God. There is something-something very wrong in his head, Omi."

"You can't fix it," Omi said simply. He reached out and touched Ken's hand. "I'll talk to Nagi about it."

"Don't." Ken shook his head. "I'll deal with it."

"Are you sure?" Omi was surprised.

Ken nodded. "Yes. I'll deal with it."

'I just have to figure out how,' he thought to himself.

@_@

Ha ha! Bet ya'll thought you could get away from me! Not so! I have returned, with yet another part! (Admit it, you're all overjoyed!) Coming soon (which translates into 'eventually'): the conversation that Youji had with Schuldig and the events that transpired behind Ran's closed door.

Where is Youji going and will Schuldig really follow behind him all night? What is Ran doing while out and about? Where are the psycho and the prodigy? Will poor Omi not get to see his Nagi-wagi-kins? What is Ken plotting behind his odd demeanor?

Find out next time, on: 'In the Company of Strangeness: Interlude with bishounen and biseinen'.


	9. ItCoS: An Interlude with Bishounen and B...

'ItCoS 9: An Interlude with Bishounen and Biseinen'  
  
0_~  
  
At a dance club that catered to an eclectic mix of clientele, Youji was dancing in the midst of a mindless, whirling mass of people, his brain shut down as he let his body answer the call of the music and the press of bodies around him.  
  
On a functional level, he knew that Schuldig was near, probably very close, but he could not bring himself from the depths of the rhythm to open his eyes and pinpoint the redhead's exact whereabouts.  
  
People pressed close to him, his body brushed periodically from every side as dancers twirled around him in the same rhythm that he danced. It wasn't until hands settled at his waist that he allowed himself to be partially woken up from his daze, his green eyes opening and focusing on the far wall as a body pressed against his back. At the same time, he registered the slower beat of the music, the sensual tempo of another song.  
  
The hands turned into arms around his waist, drawing him against a lean, hard body. A face pressed into his neck, and he knew from his sense of touch alone who was holding him so close. He turned easily in the loose grip, his arms moving under Schuldig's to go around the redhead's waist. Green eyes blinked at him in surprise, and the blond smirked.  
  
With the fluid grace of practice, he began to lead, his take-over gentle as he took control and pressed his cheek against the German's. He laughed softly, knowing that his breath would tingle along the skin in front of the other's ear, aware all the time of the press of another man's erection against his own. It was alien, but at the same time it was enticing and…nice  
  
His smirk softened into a smile and he closed his eyes, letting music and sensation carry him away once more.  
  
0_o  
  
Ran's evening was planned out: common sense, and a fifteen-year-old boy in love, had told him where he could find what he was seeking, and he wasted no time in seeking 'it' out.  
  
The apartment complex was bigger than the one in which he lived with Aya-chan, but the neighborhood was still rather poor. Lengthy strides took the stairs three at a time, and he cleared the fifteenth floor before the elevator had made it to the fourth. He left the stairwell and let his eyes roam the numbers on the doors until he found the one he was looking for. It opened before he had a chance to knock.  
  
Brad stood indifferently in the doorway, reading a book while he held the door open. He was wearing what looked to be part of his normal attire of a suit, but the jacket was gone and the top three buttons of his dress shirt were undone.   
  
When Ran made no move to enter the apartment, the American looked up. Their eyes met, connected. Ran stepped into the doorway and Brad lowered the book his hand. Their lips met with brutal force, neither touching the other in any other way.  
  
Ran broke the kiss, drawing back and stepping back across the threshold, his face as blank as always, though the effect was ruined by his kiss-bruised lips and the slight hitch to his breathing.  
  
Knowing the other man would follow, he turned sharply on his heel and walked away. If they were going to play games, they'd play on -his- terms. A smirk curved his lips as he pushed through the doors to the stairwell, his legs carrying him up instead of down. The door shut and then opened again almost immediately, the American closing the distance between them and then falling into step beside Ran as the redhead made his way to the roof.  
  
0_0  
  
Omi sighed in disappointment as Ken left the kitchen. He had tried valiantly for the better part of an hour to cheer his friend up, but the older teens preoccupation refused to let Omi hold his attention for more than a minute at a time.  
  
He cleaned up the ice cream bowls, rinsing them before placing them beside the sink to be washed thoroughly the next day. Tired steps took him into his own bedroom, where he shut the door without turning on the light. As soon as the rest of the world was closed out, thin arms wrapped around him and a warm face nuzzled beneath his chin.  
  
Omi chuckled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and sinking into a comfortable embrace. "Just when I need you the most," he whispered into Nagi's hair, his lips brushing the younger boy's forehead.  
  
"I missed you," Nagi whispered back, his hand stroking up Omi's back, his body pressing more solidly against the other's. "I would have come sooner, but I had to take care of Farfie."  
  
"Mm…" Omi said distractedly, grinning broadly as lips traced the column of his next. Then the words caught up to him. "Take care of…?" he prompted, drawing back slightly.  
  
Nagi sighed. His hand slid down Omi's arm and circled his boyfriend's wrist. Then he brought the hand up to his other arm, his fingers guiding Omi's until the other could feel the thin bandage wrapped around his arm. "We were distracted."  
  
Omi's reaction was instantaneous. He pulled away from his boyfriend and turned on the light, his attention quickly returning to the other boy as he grabbed his arm and held it up, scrutinizing the wrap. "What happened?"  
  
Nagi sighed, knowing that the mood for the evening was ruined. He shrugged, feeling self-conscious under the caring concern on Omi's eyes. Schwartz had certainly never been so concerned over a simple wound, and he could remember no one before them who would have cared. "We lured the cops to our end of the alley," he answered simply, knowing that the answer wasn't quite that simple.  
  
"Fools," Omi said, the word a sigh from his lips. He pressed a gentle kiss over the bandage, then smiled up at Nagi. "Don't -ever- do that again."  
  
The words were so similar to what he had said himself earlier, Nagi found himself taken aback. Then he chuckled. His amusement was short-lived as he leaned in to kiss Omi. Against the other's lips, his arm still gripped in a loving grip, he whispered softly, "I love you."  
  
0_~  
  
Their sensual dance turned into a means of foreplay. Youji, still thinking he was in control of their dance, was surprised when Schuldig stopped and pulled away, and he found himself standing near the exit with the redhead grinning down at him.  
  
The German tilted his head towards the door, an invitation to take their party outside. Youji hesitated for only a moment before he grabbed Schuldig's hand and lead the way to the alley behind the club. Once outside, Youji was pushed against the wall by the door, the redhead's body pinning him the bricks of the building.  
  
They kissed, their mouths and tongues meshing hungrily, their hands pushing and pulling at each other in turn, divesting each other of jackets and outer layers of clothing, leaving them each in only a thin shirt.  
  
Schuldig broke away from Youji's mouth and attacked his neck, his teeth nipping gently at soft skin, his hands running down the other man's hips as he suckled the skin where the neck and shoulder met, his lips gliding over Youji's collarbone.  
  
Something seemed to snap inside the blond, and he started to just let it happen, his head falling back as he tried desperately to think and to shut down his brain simultaneously. There was a warning that he was losing control and that things were out of hand, but the warning was overridden by the very strong urgings of his body…and maybe something deeper.  
  
The war within him left him split, and his mind stopped completely, leaving him feeling numb as Schuldig continued to kiss and fondle him, his shirt pushed up by the redhead's eager hands. It took a moment for his non-reaction to sink in before the German stopped.  
  
Breathing heavily, the redhead pulled back and looked at him with dark eyes. As quickly as he had begun, he pushed away, leaving Youji to lean against the wall for support. They stared at each other, Youji's eyes eventually focusing on Schuldig with the closest thing to an apology Schuldig had ever seen.  
  
'Control?' Schuldig asked, his mouth compressed in a thin line as he searched the blond's eyes. It took a moment for a response to come, but Schuldig didn't have time to be concerned with the pause because he was roughly pushed against the door, his shirt fisted tightly in Youji's grip as the blond tried once more to consume him with heated kisses.  
  
0_o  
  
Brad stopped when they reached the roof, but Ran kept walking until he was standing on the edge looking down, his hair blowing in his face. There was nothing to say, so they didn't speak. Separately, and yet together, they stood on the roof and watched the moon rise in the night sky, the stars obliterated by the city lights, but the moon clear and concise.  
  
Under his black coat, Ran fingered the hilt of his katana, his focus on the man standing behind him: the man who he had turned his back on willingly. Quiet, but not silent, footsteps crossed the roof, displacing small pebbles as Brad made his way to stand behind the red-haired young man.  
  
"I want to know why you're doing what you're doing," Ran said finally, his hands dropping to his side, his sword still sheathed.  
  
"You make it sound as if I need a reason," Brad answered mockingly, making no attempt to hide his amusement.  
  
Ran snorted and turned quickly, his eyes boring into the other man's. "You have a reason for everything: why would this be different?"  
  
"I think you need to accept that sometimes there is no reason in anything."  
  
"I think you're up to something," Ran rejoined quickly. "I will not let you hurt my sister."  
  
The American raised an eyebrow, his lips twisting into a smirk. "I had no intention to do anything…to -her-. Are you not concerned about your 'friends' Fujimiya? Why do you not stand here and declare that you'll protect them as well?"  
  
"It is your motives that I'm concerned with, not those of your compatriots."  
  
"Maybe it is their motives you should be concerned with. Why does Mastermind have -patience- to woo your play boy? Why does a boy who's never known love turn to the most innocent among you and offer it so freely? Why does a psychopath decide that playing with a kitty is better than hurting it?"  
  
"Why does a manipulative bastard suddenly decide to court the enemy?" Ran asked calmly. Inside, his mind was quickly turning, trying to answer all of those questions. He had left them, his…his coworkers, in the hands of the enemy so that he could come and play at being the hero again. As always, it had gotten him nothing.  
  
He closed his eyes, shutting the sight of the other man's cruel smirk out of his mind and vision. Cool fingers caressed his cheek and it took all of his control not to flinch at the contact. "Why does a boy become a killer?"  
  
Ran's eyes snapped open, the fire sparkling within their depths quickly. "Do -not- play with me," he ground out, his teeth clenching.  
  
"It is not I who plays," Brad said softly, cupping Ran's cheek and leaning down to kiss him softly, gently.  
  
0_0  
  
Omi, having been thrown off balance by the thought of his boyfriend being injured, was unwilling to let it go.   
  
Instead of making out, like Nagi had first intended and hoped, Omi decided to show his worry in a more emotional, less…active way. Nagi managed to get him to the bed, but the older boy simply laid down, wrapped his arms around the younger, and cuddled him.  
  
They laid like that for a long time, content to just be in each other's company and arms. Though it wasn't what Nagi had wanted when he had arrived, he was not going to complain: any time spent with Omi was worth it, no matter what they did.  
  
0_~  
  
The difference between their earlier kisses and the second round was obvious to Schuldig. Youji's lips softened and his response became more of an action than a reaction as it had been earlier: sometimes, the instincts of a survivor can kill a mood, or enhance it.  
  
Schuldig was enjoying the new turn of events: he hadn't expected Youji to fall into his arms so quickly, despite what he might have said to the contrary. He was enjoying his luck and the feeling of a willing, responsive partner.   
  
Hands slipped into his pants, fingers digging past the hemline to grasp his butt. He chuckled against the blond's lips, amused and aroused by the other's sudden intensity. His humor was ill-received, as Youji pulled back and blinked at him through hazy, lust-filled eyes.  
  
"What's so funny?" asked a suspicious, breathless Youji.   
  
Schuldig laughed again and tenderly cupped Youji's face. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," the German said, his voice a husky whisper. Youji blinked, his mind trying to register and grasp that concept without success. "I have seen you in almost every possible situation, and you have not disappointed me. And now," he stopped and grinned. "Now, I will see you as you cry out my name."  
  
The thought was both enticing and frightening at once. It took Youji only a moment before he had made up his mind: with a sense of his usual daring, he grabbed the redhead's hand and lead him out of the alley. He had a perfectly comfortable bed where they could finish up.  
  
'We'll see about that,' he answered Schuldig mentally. The other man laughed, reading his intent in his actions.  
  
0_o  
  
Ran closed his eyes, his heart beating faster. It was no use; he could have denied his attraction to the other man and he still would have responded: he hadn't bothered to deny it. However, he hadn't planned on admitting how much he reacted to Crawford's nearness, voice, mannerisms, and other such things.  
  
Whether he liked it or not, he had a sinking suspicion that his feelings were going beyond sex, and the thought scared him. He knew Schwartz was planning something, even if he didn't know what it was. Only danger could come from allowing himself to lower his guard in such proximity to the enemy, but at the present moment, the simple touch on his cheek was enough to keep him floating high above the ground, his feet touching air as he let himself follow his emotions.  
  
If he were lucky, his emotions would lead him as they had before, allowing him to stay alive and triumphant. If he weren't so lucky he'd…if it came to that, he would deal with it when it happened.  
  
*_*  
  
Ken waited until Omi had gone to bed, and then he slipped downstairs. He was too tired to go out, but not the right kind of tired to go to bed. As a compromise to his own contradictory feelings, he decided to make sure that the plants were taken care of and that everything was put away where it was supposed to be.  
  
The shadows of the Koneko, created by the illumination of the street lights outside, was calming, and Ken felt his mind begin to slow down and relax for the first time that day. When there was nothing more that he could do without turning on the lights, he walked up to a window and peered out the front through the blind, his fingers splaying the white plastic just enough to give him a vantage point. The street was empty, deserted, and that prompted him to look at his watch. 'Eleven thirty…that's not too late,' he thought to himself.  
  
Then he sighed, letting the blinds fall close as his chin settled on his chest, his arms hanging at his sides. He turned to go back upstairs, taking one step forward before he collided with a warm body. He started to struggle, his initial reaction to get away before he looked up and recognized the person who owned the arms that wrapped about him.  
  
One golden orb stared back down at him and pale lips twisted into a small smile. "Hello, kitty." Ken grunted. His arms had somehow become trapped between their bodies, and he tried to lever their bodies apart using his elbows. The Irishman grinned, then laughed, the sound sending a chill up Ken's spine. With a quickness that Ken had only experienced when fighting the blonde, Farferello lowered them both to the floor, one hand cradling Ken's head and the other holding the brunette close.  
  
"Let me go," Ken said thickly, trying to hide the sudden fear that he felt at their positions. He pushed at the other one ineffectually. "Let me -up-!"  
  
"Poor kitty," Farferello said. He leaned closer, his mouth coming closer and closer to Ken's until only a span of millimeters separated their lips. "I'll take care of you, kitty," the Irishman said warmly. He closed the distance between them, but instead of kissing Ken, he licked at the brunette's jaw, surprising him.  
  
Small, gentle strokes of the albino's tongue left a trail of moisture down Ken's neck, marking a path to the neckline of his shirt. There, warm lips replaced the tongue, and he shuddered pleasurably at the gentleness and semi-sensuality of the gesture.  
  
@_@  
  
*Grin* hehe…that wasn't quite what I had planned…but hey, rewriting this for the third time has left me results that I kind of like, so…  
  
Hm…Ran and Brad are interesting, I think I smell a Schuldig/Youji lemon coming up (if I ever figure out what they're deal is), and I'm really, really sorry for skipping the Omi/Nagi bits, but…actually, I have no excuse other than that they are really boring me (in this fic, not in general). I think I messed something up when I wrote them because I just don't -feel- them. Which is just as well, since this was supposed to be Ken/Farf-centric anyway.  
  
Where is Youji leading his German wooer? What games will Ran and Brad play? Will Omi and Nagi -ever- get exciting? And just how far does Farfie plan on taking that tongue bath?  
  
Find out some of the answers on the next episode of: 'ItCoS 10: Spiral Up' 


	10. ItCoS: Spiral Up

'ItCoS 10 (v. 1.0): Spiral Up' The non-lemony (shorter) version

0_o

Brad maneuvered them into a bedroom, possibly the only bedroom in the apartment, without giving Ran more than a few seconds to blink and accept the situation. Their eyes met shortly before their lips. On contact, Ran let his eyelids slip down to cover whatever reaction the other man might see in them, and simply let himself feel.

Firm lips, used to taking control, pressed against his, demanding entry. Then Ran's tongue was joined by another, the invader running over his teeth and the inside of his lips before twirling around his own in a primitive dance.

Hands, strong and used to work- 'I won't ask what kind,' he thought to himself-, pulled him close and divested him of clothing at the same time, the fingers moving so deftly that they had no sooner rid him of his shirt than they were undoing his pants. He held his arms out and his legs straight to help the other man, but made no move to disrobe Brad.

When Ran finally stood naked in the American's embrace, Brad slowed the pace of their kisses and caresses and stepped back. Showing the same efficiency he'd displayed when stripping Ran, he quickly took of his clothes.

They came together again, pressing skin to skin. Brad gripped the redhead's upper arms, holding him in place while he kissed him roughly. The other's hands were resting on his hips while Ran returned stroke for stroke with his tongue, his teeth and mouth making an equitable attempt to bruise the other man's mouth in return.

Finally, when it seemed that they could get no closer to each other without crawling through the others mouth, Brad pushed Ran backwards onto the bed and followed him down, quickly pressing the redhead back into the mattress and holding him there with the force and weight of his body. Their mouths never broke contact.

Ran managed to free one of his hands, and he grabbed a handful of Brad's hair and pulled the man's head backwards, making him hiss in surprise. Ran leaned up, away from the mattress, and settled his lips, open-mouthed, over Brad's neck and suckled the velvety skin that covered his veins and arteries.

The American chuckled deep in his throat, the resulting vibration making Ran's lips tingle. While Ran was busy creating what would be a hickey in the morning, Brad ran his hands over his lover's body, coaxing Ran to spread his legs wide so that the older man could settle between them. 

With a movement of his hand that seemed separate from the rest of his body, the latter being used to press Ran into the bed, Brad removed a bottle of lube from the nightstand beside them. He looked down at Ran, his eyes dark and his face ruddy from passion, his face a cold mask. Then he flashed a grin suddenly, a quirk of his normal sadism present as he murmured huskily, "Wouldn't want to hurt you, would I?"

Ran blinked, then shrugged, his expression deadpan. "I think you'd get off on hurting me."

Brad chuckled again, leaning down so that his lips brushed Ran's ear when he spoke. "Only when you get off on it too." He pressed a small kiss on the outer shell of Ran's ear and they continued.

0_~

Youji had planned on getting Schuldig back to the apartment so that he could have his way with the German, but the redhead had other ideas. It seemed that he was under the impression that, though Youji's car was sex on wheels it was not meant for sex, but the car that he, Schuldig drove, had enough room for such things and was parked at the end of the alley.

He quickly led Youji in that direction, simply smirking and winking when the blond looked at him questioningly. That was all it took for Youji to get the message, and the blond smiled back, pulling Schuldig closer for another kiss, his right hand moving between their bodies to rub the redhead's through the material of his pants.

Unconsciously, Schuldig pressed into the touch, his body seeking more even as he reached for the car door. The sooner they could get into the car, the sooner he could get Youji's clothes off, and the sooner he could be buried deep within the blond. It was such a pleasant thought that his body tightened even more, making his hands shake with desire. The novelty of that wouldn't occur to him until later.

He finally succeeded in opening the door, and Youji backed away and laid down on the back seat, his fingers working to get his own pants off. Schuldig grinned and crawled inside, moving to kneel over Youji on his hands and knees, doing his best to watch the blond strip without getting in his way.

"The door," Youji said, his hands pushing his pants down his hips. Schuldig sighed and leaned back, shutting the door and temporarily missing part of the show as Youji got his pants to his knees, which is as far as he could get them in their present position.

The German smirked and moved away. He pushed the front seats as far up as they could go, then crouched down on the floor boards and had Youji sit up. He finished pulling the blond's pants and boxers off, then reached up to unbutton Youji's shirt.

"Why are you doing this?" Youji asked suddenly. Their eyes met and Schuldig's hands stopped for just a moment before resuming their task without benefit of sight.

"I can tell you any number of lies," Schuldig said, his smirk taking on a more serious tone. "I can lie to you and you will never know it. Tell you I love you, make you believe it. I can still do it. I am still -able- to read your mind, but I have to exert myself. A little bit of work, and you could be my slave."

"Then why this?" Youji rephrased his question, gesturing down at his mostly undressed state.

"Several reasons," answered the German, done with Youji's shirt. He reached behind him, between the front seats, and pulled out a tube of oil. "Because you silence everything else. Because it's more of a challenge to do it this way."

"You're going to kill us when you're done, aren't you?" there was no judgment in his voice; it was simply a statement, a fact understood between two parties.

Schuldig smiled and leaned closer, pressing his lips against Youji's before drawing back to reply honestly, "When I'm done with you, I -will- kill you." Then he pushed Youji back onto his back and climbed between his legs, still fully dressed himself.

Youji wrapped his arms around the redhead, wondering if there was something more to the answer than what it seemed and confused by the clothing that the German still wore. He started to tug at Schuldig's pants and shirt, but strong hands stopped him, and the redhead shook his head.

"Not tonight, Youji-kun," he said laughingly. "When I take you, it will be in a bed so that your only thoughts will be on me, not on the surroundings or the question of what is digging into your back. When I take you, your mind will be full of nothing but the sensation of what I will be doing to you."

Before Youji could respond, he was kissing the blond again, pressing closer and creating a friction that was more teasing than fulfilling.

*_*

Farferello pressed a kiss to Ken's Adam's apple, to the pulse points on either side of his neck. Then he paused over Ken's jugular, and the brunette had an odd image of the Irishman ripping his neck out with his teeth. Ken laughed.

The kissing stopped abruptly and the Irishman held his position as if frozen that way. Ken's laughter stopped and he frowned, his brow furrowed, as he tried to guess what Farferello would do.

At last, Farferello asked quietly, "Why do you laugh?" Seeing no point in lying, Ken told him the truth and waited for the other man's response. He was surprised when Farferello simply kissed his neck again and then drew back. "I wouldn't do that, kitty. I don't think you'd be much fun, writhing in agony and splashing blood."

Ken stared at him, eyes wide, for thirty seconds before the Irishman smiled suddenly. Ken was prompted to ask a question of his own. "What will you do when I'm no longer 'fun'?"

"When there is no longer any reason for me to be here, I will leave," the blond answered simply. He levered his body back down so that he was pressed flush against Ken, his face turned into the juncture of Ken's neck and shoulder.

"So, if I help you hurt God, you'll leave me alone? Or will you kill me first?"

"If you help me hurt God, I won't kill you. I can't promise that, but it's a good idea that if you help me, I won't tear you veins out." It was said in a quiet, quasi-conversational tone, as if Farferello were a normal person discussing the weather.

"What if I won't help you?" Ken asked, his voice wavering slightly. When he couldn't look into the other's face, when he couldn't see that yellow eye staring back at him, he could almost believe that there was a normal person over him, instead of Farferello. He could almost forget, but not enough to allow himself to relax into the embrace of the blond, nor to let him feel fully comfortable.

  
A light kiss brushed his jaw and he closed his eyes. "Then I'll probably kill you," Farferello answered in the same soft, even tone. "You have no purpose to me otherwise, so why should you live? God will hurt if I kill you…if I make you scream in agony and cry out in pain."

Ken pushed him away roughly, finally drawing himself out of whatever trance he'd been in and moved away from the Irishman. "Then why not kill me now! Why play this stupid game?" he yelled angrily.

The blond rolled into a sitting position and gazed at Ken unconcernedly, his head tilted to the side. Ken stood up and looked down at Farferello angrily. 

"Stay away from me unless you're going to kill me, because I will -not- help you hurt God, or anyone else," Ken informed the Irishman stiffly. With that, he turned and ran up the stairs, not caring how his hurried departure would look in his rush to get away.

In his room, with the door shut and a chair under the knob, he breathed deeply, trying to focus his scattered thoughts. However, every time he closed his eyes, he felt the smallest of pressures, like a chaste kiss, being pressed against his neck.

It was going to be a long night.

@_@

Writing two parts for this was really easy. Write the lemon, cut the NC-17 parts that make it descriptive, and paste it into a non-lemon. Muy easy, yes?

Anyway…so, what happens now? Where do they go from here? Can any of them go -anywhere? Or is there more beneath the surface than what our heroes have gotten to so far (and yes, I know a certain German has seen a LOT, but that, my friends, is another story entirely).

Ya, so…next time, when we see our heroes again, what new, pertinent things will we learn? Probably nothing, but stay tuned anyways for: 'ItCoS 11: Spiral In'

Also, for quicker updates, or to check out some of my other stories (this is the only WK so far, though), have a look around at my site.

http://www.baseofoperation.org

That is also where the lemony portions of this story can be found, such as the NC-17 version of this chapter


	11. ItCoS: Spiral In

'ItCoS 11: Spiral In'

*SPOILERS*

0_'

Omi snuggled closer to his boyfriend, drawn closer to the other's warmth even in sleep. Nagi looked down on him, his face unsmiling, and then slowly detached himself. He slipped silently out of bed, moving Omi gently into his spot so that the boy would still be surrounded by his body heat and smell.

He dressed quickly, donning his plain gray jacket, then left the room. He bypassed the kitchen, then stopped and took a step back. Farferello sat on the counter, his bandages dangling from his wrists, his knife cutting stripes down his forearm. With a thought, Nagi pulled the knife from his hand and put it into his own.

The blonde didn't seem to care. He slid his finger up his arm, covering it with his blood, then put his finger into his mouth. "Taste good?" Nagi asked quietly.

The Irishman did look up then, his eye scanning Nagi's face before he returned to his scrutiny of his bloody arm. "Where is your kitty?" Farferello asked. Nagi smirked slightly at the label.

"Sleeping unawares," came his amused response. Nagi leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his amusement draining away. "The others?"

"Not yet. Schuldig said 'maybe tomorrow'." He tilted his head, brought his arm to his mouth, and licked away some of the blood that was threatening to drip from his hand. "He likes the quiet."

Nagi looked at him, then nodded thoughtfully. "It's nice like this, but Crawford…"

"He likes it, too," Farferello said softly. Nagi's gaze sharpened. The Irishman must have felt the intensity of his gaze, because he looked up as well, and their gazes met. "My kitty won't play with me."

"You scare it," Nagi said quietly. "You can't just pet it nice and expect it to curl up in your lap. And Farferello? Talk to him. Tell him what it is that you want. How can he do what you want when he doesn't know what that is?"

0_~

Youji gave a satisfied sigh and stretched. His right arm went into the air, his fingers reaching for some far-off point, and his left leg and foot moved underneath the driver's seat. After a moment, he relaxed his position, tucking his appendages in close again.

A chuckle sounded beside him, sounding equal parts amused and smug. Youji glanced sideways, but Schuldig was little more than a shadow in the other corner of the backseat. He reached down and searched the floor, until he found his pants, or what felt like them, and then he felt around some more until he found his cigarettes and his lighter.

The cigarette flared to life, and he dropped the remnants of the pack and the lighter back to the floor, then turned until he was leaning against side of the car and his feet were in the German's lap. He heard the redhead make a noise of surprise, and he smirked.

"Happy with yourself?" Youji asked. His answer was the cigarette being pulled from his fingers.

He expected to see the flare of the end of the cigarette, indicating that it was being drawn on, but instead he watched as the tip was crushed against Schuldig's boot-heel. "Very." 

"Bastard," Youji murmured. Schuldig shifted, and he was no longer laying partially on the redhead. The German covered his body, pressing against the length of him.

"A very talented bastard," agreed the telepath. "Admit it. You like it."

"Maybe," Youji agreed, pressing into the body over his, his lips seeking and finding Schuldig's in the dark. "Now that the bars are all closed and the sun's due up in a few hours, how about you take me to a bed?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

0_o

Brad closed the door softly behind him, then walked bare-footed into his living room. He looked around, then moved across the carpeted floor until he reached the sliding doors that lead to his balcony. He looked out through the glass, his eyes studying the glow that covered the city like a blanket. It was a quiet night, almost peaceful.

He smirked ruefully to himself, his gaze sliding to the reflection of his bedroom door in the glass. Behind that wooden barrier lay a lethal, deadly force that could, and would at the right provocation, attack him at any moment. If given the right amount of surprise, it was possible that Ran could even be his death. 

It was an intoxicating thought. There really wasn't too much danger of the redhead and his friends getting out of control, but they had managed to surprise the members of Schwartz more than once. Schuldig said he didn't see anything to worry about in their thoughts, but then again, the German was rather distracted ('And his power muted,' Brad added darkly to himself) when he was around a certain blond that it was possible that they may have missed something important.

There was always a possibility that things wouldn't happen as he'd seen them, but until the time came, he would let the threads of fate unwind, as he had let them before. Fate had yet to let him down.

*_*

Ken woke up with a headache. He climbed out of bed and made his way slowly to his closet, where he drew out a set of clean clothes. He put his pants on in his room, barely opening his eyes; even the thin rays through the window hurt. The shirt he left on the bed until later. The apartment was warmer than normal, and it was making him feel nauseated on top of his headache.

He made his way to the kitchen, and was actually surprised to find it empty. He shrugged, both physically and mentally, and went to the fridge. A glass of orange juice and an energy breakfast bar later, he felt a little more normal, but his head was still pounding. He rinsed his glass in the sink, and then made his way to the bathroom. There were several bottles of painkillers in the medicine cabinet, and he dumped out three pills of medium strength in to his palm. He leaned over to cup water from the sink in his palm, and used that to wash it down. When he stood up, he jumped.

His reflection in the mirror had been joined by a shirtless Farferello. The Irishman was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his eye fixed on Ken's face in the mirror. His mouth full of water and pills, Ken swallowed with difficulty, then choked as something went down wrong. He braced himself on the sink and coughed. He ended up spitting all three pills into the sink and making his headache worse.

A body pressed against his from behind and two arms reached out on either side of him. One hand held a cup of water, the other two white pills that Ken recognized as aspirin. He straightened slowly, and accepted the offerings, the same as he accepted the arms that wrapped around his waist. This time, everything went down smoothly, even with the added warmth wrapped around him, making him very aware of the other's body pressed against him.

Ken sighed and closed his eyes, tilting his head back. That had the result of putting his head near the crook of Farferello's neck.

"What do you want from me?" he asked tiredly. 'Hurt God, hurt God…go hurt someone else, please?' he screamed internally. The Irishman tilted his head down, pressing his cheek against Ken's and pressing his lips tenderly to the brunette's shoulder.

"I want you," he whispered. Ken waited for the inevitable 'to help me hurt God', but it didn't come. Instead, the blonde tightened his arms and pressed his whole body closer.

There was silence and stillness for several moments, and then Ken's body convulsed. A moment later, he lurched forward, breaking the hold that Farferello had on him. He didn't run, though. He curled up in a crouch by the shower stall, his arms wrapped around his knees, his head buried against them. "What the hell do you want from me? I don't get it. You want to hurt God, and you want me to help, but I don't know what you expect of me. And then you kiss me, and touch-" he broke off, drawing in a shuddery breath. 

"'And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another.'"[1] Farferello quoted, seeming quite lucid. Ken laughed hoarsely, and the sound broke on a sob. He cut it off and squeezed his eyes shut before any tears could fall. He would not show himself that broken. He felt a hand on his head, fingers running tenderly through his hair, and he looked up. "You want me?" the blonde asked, kneeling, his eye fixed firmly on Ken's face.

They stared at each other for several seconds before Ken finally nodded defeatedly and tried to drop his head back down. The Irishman put his hand under his chin, not gripping it so much as holding it up so that Ken couldn't look down and away from him.

"'Who, knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.'"[2] Then he leaned forward and gently kissed Ken, his lips lightly parted. There was no pressure, or force, just the contact from one mouth to the other. Ken could almost feel a question in the action, a waiting.

'burned in their lust one toward another….commit such things are worthy of death…have pleasure…' It clicked, and everything that he had suspected seemed to solidify into actuality, and before he could over think his own actions, Ken opened his mouth and gently ran his tongue along Farferello's bottom lip, offering his acceptance to what terms he understood.

He waited for the other to take over, but the Irishman stayed still, his mouth partially opened to allow Ken's tongue. Ken drew back, frowning, wondering if he'd gotten it wrong again. Farferello's eye was closed, his breathing deep and even. Ken wondered for a moment if he was asleep, but then his lips moved and he said quietly, "Someone's coming."

Ken blinked, and about that time, the floorboard outside the bathroom squeaked and someone knocked on the door. The brunette stared for a moment into the eyes of the man kneeling in front of him, then stood up carefully, pressing his back against the shower door to keep from knocking down Farferello.

He opened the door and blinked at Omi in surprise. Blue eyes blinked back at him before sliding over his shoulder, and he surmised that Farferello was standing behind him. "Omi?" he said the boy's name questioningly, bringing the teen's attention back to him. "What did you need?"

"Um…I needed to use the bathroom. If you're…done with it?" the boy replied awkwardly, blushing. Between the half-clad states of the men in front of him and the fact that he knew the blonde had been actively chasing his friend and coworker, he was wary of disrupting them.

"We're done in here," Ken said quickly, moving around Omi and heading towards his room. He was stopped by the door, which wouldn't open. He looked at it oddly, then tried to turn the knob again, but it still wouldn't open.

"He understands, but he doesn't. He's remarkably intelligent, but not where people are concerned."

"He spent too long being a victim," Ken said harshly. He sighed, and turned to look at Nagi. He could see Farferello behind the teen, and the closed door to the bathroom beyond him. He searched the Irishman's face, but there was nothing to read there. "Coming?"

With surprising obedience, the blonde took that as his cue and he walked past Nagi and Ken, opened the door to Ken's room, and then disappeared inside, letting the door slide mostly shut behind him.

Nagi held out his hand, his fist closed over the object with in, and Ken reached for it, curious. "He may not mind the pain, but you may not like the blood if you're not prepared for what you're about to do. If you follow through, you'll want that," the teen said, letting Ken take the object. "Now, while you keep him busy, I must go distract a kitten of my own."

@_@

[1] Romans 1:27, King James Version (Bible)

[2] Romans 1:32, King James Version 

I know it's a short chapter, but if you've read the signals right, you should know what's coming next.

So…next episode: Schuldig and Youji make it home and to bed, but can they do more than that before they're interrupted? Omi wakes up; what is a Nagi to do? And Ken has to live up to his decision.

Stay tuned for the next episode of: 'ItCoS 12: Spiral Out'


	12. ItCoS: Spiral Out

'ItCoS 12: Spiral Out'

o_0

The door opened behind Brad, but he didn't turn to look. He heard the near-silent shuffle of steps as Ran crossed the floor, heard the rustle of fabric as he reclaimed his clothes. There was the quiet sound of the door being unlocked and opened, and then of it being closed.

He smiled slightly, raising a hand to graze his fingers across the red mark on his neck as the sun began its ascent.

0_~

Youji smirked as he leaned head back in his seat. Schuldig was driving, and Youji didn't know where they were going, but at the moment, he wasn't too sure he cared. They were going in the wrong direction to go back to his own apartment, and he thought it odd that the German would take him home, but he wasn't about too complain.

His pants were unbuttoned and gaping, and his shirt rode high on his stomach. His right leg was up on the dashboard, his bare foot resting against the cool leather console as they drove in the early morning grayness. It was a little before six, and the sun was slowly rising on the horizon. It looked like a beautiful day, and he wondered briefly what it would take to mar that beauty.

No sooner had the thought presented itself that it was chased away by a hand being placed on his thigh. He looked over at Schuldig, moving his own had to cover the hand touching him. He scanned the other man's face, looking for anything that would give him a clue as to what was going on with the redhead. There was a smug set to his eyes, and a definite gleam in his eyes, but there was no other outward indication of his thoughts or emotions.

'It's not fair,' he sent the thought. 'You get to mind rape everyone you pass by, and I can't get a damn clue as to what goes on inside your head.'

"You wouldn't like it," Schuldig responded verbally. "It's loud." He stopped there, but Youji thought he could detect a train of thought that wasn't completed, and he narrowed his eyes.

'What were you going to say?' he asked, pushing the thought out forcefully. Schuldig winced and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"It was going to be, it's loud except when you're around, but I think you just proved that theory wrong."

'Why do you talk with your mouth? Isn't it easier to just send your thoughts?' he was curious, now. He knew that Schwartz often talked with each other with their minds, connected by the German, and he couldn't understand why the redhead would insist on going about it the hard way.

"Enough talk," the redhead said, bringing the car to a stop. Youji turned to his window and looked up at a large apartment complex. It was a tall building, and he could tell by the gold plating on the entrance doors that it was an expensive place to live. He heard the driver's door open, and reached to open his own, but in a flash, Schuldig was opening his door for him and reaching a hand out to help him out.

"You're a true gentleman," Youji noted, giving in and speaking his thoughts aloud. It helped that even -he- could hear the sarcasm in his voice. "It's too bad you don't have a lady to pamper, hm?"

Schuldig pulled him out of the car and onto the sidewalk, and used the momentum of Youji's body to swing him around until he was standing in the German's arms, his back against the redhead's chest, arms wrapped tight around his torso. "I'd much rather indulge you, and I know many ways to do that."

"Promises, promises," Youji murmured throatily, pressing back against the heat of the body behind him. "Let's get this show on the road, Schuldig-chan."

The hands against his sides slid down, running over the tops of his thighs through his pants. Schuldig turned his thumbs in, making sure that they pressed against Youji's crotch as his hands moved up and down. "We can do this show on the road," he whispered darkly, burrowing against the back of Youji's neck and flicking his tongue out to taste the skin found there.

"You said a soft bed, Schwartz. Don't get lazy on me now," Youji teased huskily, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Soft bed, yes," the redhead agreed, moving forward without ever breaking his hold on Youji. "Maybe some whips and chains," he added thoughtfully. Youji missed a step, his eyes widening. "And we'll definitely have to play with the leash."

"What the-" Youji started, only to be cut off by Schuldig reaching between his legs and cupping his crotch.

"You'll like it," Schuldig said promisingly.

0_0

Omi laughed as Nagi ran a hand up his side, then giggled when it brushed the sensitive spot under his ribs. "Stop that! No fair tickling me, when you won't let me tickle you," he informed Nagi seriously, trying his hardest not to smile and ruin the effect. 

"But, Omi," Nagi said crooningly. "You -like- it, when I…tickle you."

"Mm," Omi moaned appreciatively as Nagi moved his hands up his chest, and gripped his shoulders, his body moving to cover Omi's, his eyes staring down into the older boy's. Omi raised his hands and cupped Nagi's face. "I love you," he said happily, all teasing aside. He leaned up and kissed his boyfriend, not waiting for the response. 

The kiss started out innocently enough, but quickly progressed, until their tongues were moving deeply in each other's mouths, taking turns to taste each other, to play against each other. 

Nagi broke the kiss to press a trail of kisses down Omi's jaw, tracing a path to his neck, where he stopped and suckled. He listened to the other's content sigh, felt the trembling expectancy in his body, and he relished it, relished the feeling that he could elicit so many responses in the boy beneath him. It made him feel triumphant, powerful. It was enough to make him wish for eternity to freeze in that instant, so that he wouldn't lose the rush that was coursing through his blood.

"Nagi," he heard whispered softly, and his whole body stilled. He pulled away so that he could look down at his lover, so that he could see the disheveled brown hair, and blue eyes that didn't belong to…

"Omi," Nagi said softly, smiling gently, despite the turmoil inside. It only lasted a few precious seconds. He couldn't stop the tear that escaped from his eye, the clenching of his fists as he pulled away abruptly, completely, crossing the room and reaching for the door before he could break down completely.

"Nagi!" Omi exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and hurtling himself at the other teen before he could get away. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, embracing Nagi and holding him tight.

"You…for just a second, you sounded like…" Nagi trailed off, drawing in a shaky breath and trying to pull away. Omi held on tighter.

"Like her?" he asked softly, closing his own eyes. "It's okay. I understand." He did. He could remember Ouka clearly, his own pain at her loss, and he could not fault Nagi for remembering the girl he'd loved before. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to hear right after they were kissing, but he could handle it. The memories were part of what made Nagi Nagi, and Omi would not ask for him to be anything different, for his memories to be different. "Just please tell me that I don't kiss like her," he said half-jokingly, trying to erase the pain he could see in his lover's eyes.

There was silence for a moment, and then Nagi chuckled quietly. "No, you don't. We didn't…" he trailed off again, and Omi knew that that 'we' didn't include him. "We didn't get far. I only kissed her once," he said sadly. He hunched his body over, almost protectively. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Omi tilted Nagi's chin up and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Never, ever say you're sorry for being in love." Nagi closed his eyes and leaned closer, sealing their lips in another kiss, which Omi deepened.

'Why?' Nagi cried desperately inside his mind. 'Why do I have to lose this, too?'

*_*

Ken shut the door to his room and leaned back against it, his eyes finding and meeting Farferello's glittering orb in the semi-darkness of his room. The tube that Nagi had given him was still clenched in his fist, and he pressed it against his leg, rubbing it absently as his mind whirled. He'd come this far, and he still wasn't sure if he could take the last couple of steps to follow through.

As if sensing his hesitation, or impatient himself, Farferello strode forward, hands going to brace himself against the door as he leaned down and pressed his lips, open-mouthed, against Ken's. The brunette returned the pressure, reaching up to press his hands, one fisted, the other open, against the Irishman's chest, the fingers of his left hand lightly tracing the top of the bandages that wrapped the blond from his ribs to his belly button.

His chest tightened as Farferello's hands caressed his sides, rubbing across his skin as thin arms embraced him, pulling him even closer as the Irishman deepened the kiss. Ken remembered the tube in his hand and pushed the other man away a bit, holding it up between them. "Nagi said to use this."

Farferello looked at it for a moment, then shrugged, dismissing it and its purpose. "Not necessary," he said throatily, leaning back down to claim Ken's lips once again. Ken turned his head, evading the searching mouth.

"If you bleed on me, I won't be hurting God, I'll be hurting you," he said harshly, pushing the other away again. "You want me to hurt God, you tell me what the hell I'm supposed to be doing!" He didn't realize until he saw the smirk on the other's face that that was quite possibly the wrong thing to say. Before he could rephrase his imperative, or even blink, he was flat on his back, body covered by the blond's, his mouth open and invaded by a warm tongue.

He closed his eyes, relaxing into the sensation. His body arched up into a slender hand as it journeyed down his abdomen, stopping at the top of his pants before fingers dipped inside, reaching for the treasure that lay below. He moaned when the hand pulled back only to move over the top of his pants and cupped his erection through his clothes. The sound was muffled by the mouth still covering his, but the tremor that ran through his body was unmistakable, undeniable.

The pressure increased, and Ken's mind slipped further away under the onslaught. His hips bucked, pushing farther into the hand covering him there. As the kissing and petting continued, he brought his own hands into play, pulling the pale body closer, until they were pressed tight together. He held Farferello tighter, his hands searching down his backside until he found his posterior, and pressed their groins together, the blond's hand trapped between them and making the pressure even more unbearable.

Ken groaned, unable to help the needy sound that bubbled in his throat. The hand disappeared, and he nearly whimpered, but Farferello straddled him and pressed down with his crotch to replace the feeling of his hand.

A sound registered in the back of his head, but he was too far gone to recognize or acknowledge it. The Irishman rocked his hips, creating a delightful friction that had Ken arching his back in a silent cry to repeat it.

"Ken!" a far off voice exclaimed. He knew that it wasn't Farferello's, but it wasn't enough to bring him down. However, the blond stopping all movement did. He opened his eyes, blinking foggily. His eyes focused first on Farferello, then on the open door behind him, and finally, they came to settle on the girl at the door way. "Um…" Aya-chan said weakly. Her eyes were wide, her hand pressed to her lips in a gesture of shock.

Farferello stood up quickly and jumped through the window before Ken even had a chance to react. They both stared at the broken glass as it shattered on the floor and into the alleyway.

She buried her head in her hands, and mumbled softly, "I'm sorry."

Ken stood up and straightened his pants, then looked around for a shirt that he could pull on quickly. He found a T-shirt and pulled it over his head. Aya-chan still stood in the doorway, breathing oddly. "It's okay, Aya-chan," he said gently. He thought about patting her back, but decided that keeping his distance would probably make them both more comfortable. "What did you need?"

"Um…" she risked a glance up, dropping her hands to her side when she realized that Ken was covered and that the other man was gone. "Ran isn't in his room, and I can't find him downstairs. I was wondering if you knew where he was?"

Ken looked at her, then shook his head. He had a general idea of where her brother was, but he wasn't exactly sure -where- Crawford would be. "Sorry, Aya-chan. Don't worry, though. He should be back in a bit. He wouldn't leave you alone for long." Now that he thought about it, Ken thought it odd that Ran would leave his sister at all.

She seemed to accept his words at face-value; she turned and left his room, making her way down the hallway and to the stairs that would take her down into the shop. Ken slumped against the door frame, leaning his head tiredly against the wooden jamb. He honestly didn't know what was going on anymore. Every time he seemed to get a grasp on the situation, something ('mostly my own emotions,' he thought self-loathingly) got turned around, and he was left even more confused that he had been.

'I sleep with him, I sin against his god, I go home, and all is good,' he said to himself, retreating back into his room and shutting the door. He looked at the mess of glass on the floor, and sighed. 'Except that anymore, I'm less worried about the physical danger, and more worried that I'm-' he cut that train of thought off, and set about picking finding clothes for the day.

However, he couldn't leave the thoughts behind as easily as the Irishman seemed able to leave him. 'I don't want to feel what I think I'm feeling, but I can't deny it, either.'

In a happy-ever-after world, he would find someone that completed him and he'd run off into the sunset, but that world didn't include being wooed by the enemy, being seduced by a crazy man, being -upset- that he couldn't sleep with a man that exemplified both of those things.

'It's not like it'll hurt him-' he paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. 'He can't feel pain, he can't be hurt. Does that mean-?'

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Does he even know what pleasure is?" he asked aloud to his room. It didn't answer.

@_@

Interesting question…how long will it take before Ken receives his answer? What are Schuldig and Youji going to do? Where are Ran and Brad? What is up with Nagi and Omi?

Find out next time, on the exciting continuation of: 'ItCoS: Spiral Down'


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